


The Coming Storm

by Dorktastic_N7



Series: The Coming Storm [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Mild Language, Multi, Sassy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-10
Updated: 2020-04-02
Packaged: 2020-06-25 18:36:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 30,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19751470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dorktastic_N7/pseuds/Dorktastic_N7
Summary: Agent Soren Smith was recruited by SHIELD at a young age. Thanks to excellent training and some not so natural abilities, she rose through the ranks quickly. Guided by Agent Coulson, she was soon on the list of possible Avengers recruits. But before anything official could be set into motion, Loki appeared. And with him, he brought destruction, mistrust, and the promise of war. Now, Soren must prove herself capable of fighting alongside the Earth's Mightiest Heroes, and maybe even learn more about her mysterious past along the way. Is she strong enough to face what lies ahead? And will the arrival of a stranger change her fate? Only one thing is certain, it will be one hell of a ride.





	1. Arrival

**Author's Note:**

> Ok, so this fic has been in my head for a while, well the bones of it anyway. I am taking some liberties with the story a bit, as well as borrowing from the comics and tv series. And if the timeline gets a bit borked along the way? Well, that's just how the cookie gets vaporized kiddos. So please enjoy the reason for the bags under my eyes. And please, go easy on me and my trope loving ass. 
> 
> *WARNING* This is NOT a spoiler-free fic so avert your eyes children.

“Sir, surely you could ask someone else?”

Agent Phillip Coulson was beyond exhausted. Between insufficient intel, poor communication with local authorities, and two of his best operatives lying in the I.C.U., it was safe to say that he was having a bad day. Now he was pacing the small observation room in the S.H.I.E.L.D. training facility, watching a sixteen-year-old girl take on a trainer three times her size.

"I wasn't asking." Nick Fury replied flatly.

He kept his focus ahead as he handed Coulson a thick file with the girl's picture on it. Coulson accepted it begrudgingly and flipped it open. He quickly skimmed through the first few paragraphs, medical records, a fake birth certificate, and notes on her possible parentage that he dismissed. The rest of the file seemed to be incident reports, ranging from old police reports to the most recent surveillance memos, and there were a lot of them.

“All this for her?” It was more of a rhetorical question, but Fury gave him a pointed look anyway. “I mean, it just seems … she’s so young.”

“Never judge a book by its cover Coulson,” Fury sighed as he returned his attention to the window, “I learned that one the hard way.”

If Coulson saw the way Fury's hand reflexively went to his left eye before he corrected it to lean against the bulletproof glass, he didn't say anything. He instead focused his attention on the girl, who was now flanked by two new trainers. She was holding her own, but he knew both of them personally and had the scar tissue to prove it. They watched her for a while in silence, long enough for the girl to bust Brenner’s lip and receive a swift gut kick as payback.

“Thoughts?” Fury prompted after a few minutes.

"Kowalski and Brenner are holding back," Coulson replied coolly, as he witnessed the girl fall to the mats again, "they know what she can do."

“And you would do what exactly?” Fury asked without taking his gaze from the glass.

"If she can replicate what happened in Jackson?" He mused as she got back up with renewed energy and socked Kowalski in the jaw. "I'd want to see what her limits are, Sir." 

“And that’s why it had to be you,” Fury hummed in agreement before pressing a button on the left of the glass. “You think like me.”

A metallic scraping sound was the only indication that the button worked. Coulson began to wonder if he'd imagined it before a volley of thin projectiles rocketed towards the three figures. The two trainers were quick to pivot out of the way, but the girl just threw her arms up to block her face. Coulson was sure they would skewer her, until a solid wall of steel emerged from the floor in front of her. The projectiles bounced harmlessly off the metal shield, each landing with a dull thud onto the mats. 

The girl was fine, well unharmed may have been a better word. Her breathing was becoming erratic as the metal slowly lowered and melded seamlessly back into place. Now that he'd seen her in action, the other trainers' restraint made more sense. Coulson couldn't help but grin as he watched Kowalski take a reflexive step back into Brenner, who had gone dangerously pale.

“Well…” Fury sighed as he turned and made his way to the door, “I’d say that’s a start.” 

Coulson was left alone with his thoughts as he returned his attention to the glass. The trainers had left the room, and the girl had gone to her knees on the mats. If it had been anyone else, they would’ve walked away right then. But Phillip J. Coulson wasn’t just anyone. So, he squared his shoulders and pressed another button on the wall panel. A small portion of the wall to his right opened, revealing the training room floor. He walked over to the girl in silence, partially out of caution but also curious to see how she would react. When she didn’t look up, he bent at the knees until they were eye level.

"What's your name, kid?" He asked evenly.

“You’ve got my file, should be in there somewhere.” She replied in a lilting southern accent; it carried a sharp bite that Coulson couldn't help but admire given her current circumstances.

"True, but I prefer the human approach when it comes to my people." She balked at his statement and finally raised her head to meet his searching gaze. 

"I sent two of your 'People' to the hospital," She replied shakily as she slowly stood to her full height, "and now that I've passed your tests you think that makes us pals? They've sent you in here to give me the company sales pitch. Well whatever you and your friends upstairs are sellin, I ain’t buyin it.”

He copied her movement slowly and took a moment to analyze her up close. He could see why some had dismissed her as just another angry teenager. She was all of five feet tall with an athletic build, shoulder-length sandy blonde hair and a heart-shaped face complete with a sprinkling of freckles on her cheeks. But Coulson saw something he liked in her pale green eyes, the same fire he'd seen in his own reflection when he was her age. 

"My name is Phillip Coulson, and I am an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.," He said as he smiled and held out his hand, "and I'm not selling anything. I’ve come with a onetime offer.”

“Sure, Phil,” She sighed as she took a step back to size him up, “some guy shows up at your door in a pressed suit? Whether its religion or a vacuum, he’s sellin somethin. So, I've passed all your tests. They sent you in here to talk, so let's cut the bullshit and get serious. I'm not joining the army, and I'm not submitting to government testing. And if you try to force me? Let's say it won't go your way. I'll bust out of here before you can call security."

“Then why haven’t you?” He prodded as he let his hand fall back to his side. She stared blankly at him before quirking an eyebrow.

“What?”

“Why haven’t you escaped yet?” He repeated as he cracked open her file, he could see her flinch in his peripheral. “You’ve run from five foster homes, two shelters, and escaped police custody countless times. So, what’s stopping you now?”

"Maybe I was just biding my time." She suggested with a small shrug. "Or maybe I'm just waiting to see how far this goes before ya’ll decide I’m not worth it.”

"Well, you've more than proved your worth, and that's before you factor in your unique abilities." She scoffed at the compliment and looked away. 

“So, if I’m worth your time, maybe I could at least hear you out. But like I said, I’m not agreein to anything until I see the fine print. So, what’s your offer?”

“I'm offering you a choice. Join my team and have a say in who you become or go back and let the system keep telling you who they think you are." With that, he offered his hand again.

She studied him for a few beats, most likely trying to read his intentions. He couldn't blame her for being overly cautious. After being ripped out of her hellish reality and drug through every mental and physical test S.H.I.E.L.D. could think of, he would be a little paranoid too. She must have found what she was searching for in his eyes because she sighed and shook her head.

“Soren ... Sorenthia Jean Smith,” She said softly as their hands met, "at least that's what's on my authentic, not forged birth certificate."

"Nice to meet you, Soren. Welcome to the family." And for the first time since they had brought her in, she smiled.

* * *

**Six Years Later**

In the time she had known him, Soren had never seen Coulson so much as flinch when around important people. Not when meeting foreign dignitaries, not when being dressed down by Director Fury, not even that time they had to shadow Tony Stark for a week. So, she was finding it very difficult to hide her massive grin as she watched her mentor fumble over his words like a teenager with a crush.

"May I say again how honored I was to meet you, Sir, uh … Captain." Coulson professed as he and another man exited the small aircraft that had just touched down on the Helicarrier. 

The other man wasn't in a uniform, his brown leather jacket and plaid shirt made for an unusual sight compared to the uniformed soldiers running around. He was at least a foot taller than Coulson and broader too, with thick blonde hair and a surprisingly young face for a ninety-year-old. But the way he carried himself, broad shoulders squared at attention, screamed military man.

“Oh, sorry, manners. Captain America, this is Agent Smith.” Coulson said, gesturing towards Soren and the now approaching Natasha. “And that will be Agent Romanoff. They’re some of the best operatives S.H.I.E.L.D. has seen in a while.”

“Thanks for talkin me up, Sir," Soren replied with a smirk as she put out her hand, "And it's nice to meet you in person, Captain Rogers. Well, officially, that is."

He took her offered hand and shook it lightly, his icy blue gaze flicking between her and Natasha before he focused on her again. They reminded her of a husky, bright, and full of untapped energy but also very sad. He looked like he wanted to say something, but his thoughts were interrupted by Natasha's arrival.

"Agent Romanoff, Captain Rogers," Coulson said reverently.

"Ma'am." Steve nodded, and Soren could feel Natasha rolling her eyes as she sidled up next to the other woman.

"Hi," she replied coolly before focusing on Coulson, "they need you on the bridge. They're starting the face trace." 

He seemed a bit deflated at the interruption, but he just nodded and headed to the elevator. Soren watched him go with an odd sense of foreboding brewing in her gut. She almost went after him when Natasha nudged her with her boot. That was one of their many small cues to hang back. Something was making her nervous.

"It was quite the buzz around here, finding you in the ice." Natasha started as the trio made their way across the Helicarrier. "I thought Coulson was going to swoon."

"Play nice, Nat." Soren replied with a smirk as she pulled ahead of them and began walking backward, "At least he hasn't asked you to sign his Captain America trading cards, has he?"

“Trading cards?” Steve repeated in disbelief.

"They're vintage; he's very proud." Natasha continued as her eyes locked onto their other special guest. An older man with a head full of dark curls and a worried expression was inspecting one of the planes ahead of them.

“Doctor Banner.” Steve called out, surprising the man as he approached with an outstretched hand.

"Oh yeah, hi." Bruce replied sheepishly as he accepted the handshake, "They told me you'd be coming."

"Word is you can find the cube," Steve said, keeping it strictly business.

“Is that the only word on me?” Bruce asked in an exasperated tone.

“The only word I care about.” Bruce seemed taken aback for a moment before smiling grimly and turning towards a group of training soldiers.

“Must be strange for you,” He tried as he nodded to the soldiers, “all this.”

"Well, this is actually kind of familiar," Steve replied wistfully before a voice came over the P.A. system calling for the crew to lock it down.

"Gentlemen, you might want to step inside in a minute," Natasha said as she turned on her heel and made for the nearest elevator.

“It’s gonna get a little hard to breathe," Soren added when the men began looking around confused. Suddenly, the ground beneath them began to shake.

“Is this a submarine?” Steve asked as the Helicarrier began to whir to life beneath them. He seemed in awe of the prospect. Bruce, however, was another story.

“Really? They want me in a submerged pressurized metal container?” He lamented as they both slowly approached the edge. As the propulsion jets roared to life, the carrier began its slow ascent.

“No, no. This is much worse.” When it seemed like the good Doctor was contemplating a swim, Soren stepped in and placed a reassuring hand on his arm.

"Let's get you inside, Doc."


	2. Chasing Shadows

Soren followed the others to the bridge, smiling to herself as the Captain openly marveled at the advanced tech around him. The Doctor, on the other hand, had been making a conscious effort to note every exit since coming aboard. Nervous didn't begin to describe the man, as he stood behind one of the many chairs at the war table.

“Let’s vanish.” Director Fury ordered from the command deck, bringing her to attention. She loved this part, hell everyone did. The very idea that you could hide something as big as the Helicarrier in plain sight was exhilarating.

Once they were fully cloaked, Soren found Coulson talking in hushed tones with Agent Sitwell. Soren never cared for him much. His shifty eyes reminded her of the weasel from a cartoon she’d seen as a kid. But Coulson seemed to trust him, and that was good enough for her. They were heading the face trace, importing every alias that Clint and the other agents had ever used, and even a few they hadn't.

Natasha had made a beeline for the nearest computer and bent down to examine it. The screen showed an image of Clint Barton; they still hadn't found him yet. The surrounding monitors held the faces of the others; Dr. Erik Selvig, Loki, and a hand full of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents she didn't recognize. Loki had somehow controlled them; at least that's what Fury's report claimed.

Natasha had wanted to be sent after them immediately, but they used some form of magic and vanished with the Tesseract. Soren knew the connection the two assassins shared was unusual, but whenever she asked, the answer had always been the same. They were just friends, but just friends don't look at each other the way they do.

"We're sweeping every wirelessly accessible camera on the planet," Coulson said suddenly, "Cellphones, laptops. If it's connected to a satellite, it's eyes and ears for us."

Soren's eyes fell on Steve, who looked confused, and a bit horrified at Coulson's statement. She moved instinctually closer to the good Captain. Natasha seemed to think Banner was the only variable in this equation. Soren knew differently.

The first thing the Captain had done after they thawed him out was run. After Fury had calmed him down, he fell back into his old routine as much as could be expected. He found an apartment in Brooklyn, joined his old gym, even took the subway to a little cafe by the station a few times. Steve was doing his best to seem ok, but he wasn't. And if his issues weren’t handled delicately, it could be as dangerous as letting out the Hulk.

"It's still not going to find them in time," Natasha commented from her crouched position. Her flat tone pulled Soren's attention to the screen again. The progress bar under Clint's face proved her point, they hadn't even scanned a third of the planet yet. 

"You have to narrow your field," Banner said as he began taking off his jacket, "How many spectrometers do you have?"

"How many are there?" Fury asked with a pinch of sarcasm, Banner took it in stride and calmly began rolling up his sleeves.

"Call every lab you know, tell them to put the spectrometers on the roof, and calibrate them for gamma rays. I'll rough out a tracking algorithm, basic cluster recognition. At least it could rule out a few places."

"Was any of that English?" Soren asked quietly.

"Thank God," Steve chuckled behind her, "I thought I'd had a stroke for a minute there."

Soren laughed as Coulson just shook his head. The Doctor shrugged sheepishly and draped his jacket over his arm.

"Do you have somewhere I can work?" Fury nodded before turning to look between Soren and Natasha.

"Agent Romanoff," He began while still giving Soren a once over. There's no way he had heard her, right? "Can you show Doctor Banner to his laboratory, please?"

As the two of them headed off, the Captain sidled up to Soren. "I think I got you into trouble."

"Darlin, I AM trouble." She half-whispered as she watched Fury make his way over to Agent Hill. "But honestly, Captain, we do try and have some fun around here every now and then."

"Steve, please."

"Ok, Steve. As long as you call me Soren. Not Agent Smith, and definitely not Ma'am."

"Alright, Soren. So, where are you from anyway?" He asked abruptly, she must have made a face because he was quick to add, "I mean if that's not classified or something."

"No, it's not a secret. Most people just don't bother to ask, I'm from Mississippi." 

"See, I would've guessed Georgia," He said with a sad smile. She had read his file, studied the man for weeks. She knew that look. It was the same one he got when he would reread the old files on the Howling Commandoes. He was back there, in the war. And she would have to bring him back, somehow.

"Come on, I'll show you to your quarters." She announced as she slung her arm around his and began walking them toward the elevator. "And on the way, I can tell you about the time my friend and I broke Mr. Wheeler's fence and tried to 'rescue' his cows."

* * *

A few hours and many stories later, Soren wandered back onto the bridge to find Coulson talking with Steve. The Captain had grown on her after their talk. She hadn't really shared much more of her own story, but Steve more than made up for it with his own. Most she already knew from history class, or more official records she read from S.H.I.E.L.D. But he talked a lot about things that weren't in the reports. The good times, the not so good times, and the things that made it hard to sleep at night.

"I mean ... if it's not too much trouble." She heard Coulson say as she cleared her throat to make her presence known. She could see Steve's unease at being the center of attention. Part of her felt for him and wanted to help, the other part was much stronger and thought it was hilarious.

"No, no, it’s fine." Steve blurted as he gave her the most convincing puppy dog eyes she'd ever seen.

"It's a vintage set, took me a couple years to collect them all." When Steve just nodded, Coulson continued, "Near mint, slight foxing on the edges but..."

"We got a hit, seventy-seven percent match." Agent Sitwell interrupted, much to Steve's relief.

"Location?" Coulson asked coolly, now back in work mode.

"Stuttgart, Germany. Twenty-eight Konigtrasse." Sitwell read aloud, adjusting his glasses nervously, "He's not exactly hiding."

"Captain, you're up." Fury announced as agents jumped into action all around them. "Smith, you and Romanoff are going with him. He may need backup."

"Yes, Sir," Soren answered, the look he gave her said it all. She was to be support only, no showing off. She nodded in understanding and headed for the hangar.

Natasha was already there, of course, prepping the Quinjet for take-off. Soren slumped into the co-pilot's chair and began punching in the coordinates. Natasha stayed silent until the prep crew had left, leaving them alone to wait for Steve.

"So, what's eating you?"

"Fury grounded me," Soren replied as she stared out of the cockpit.

"What did you do this time, Ren?" Natasha prodded playfully.

"Nothin... at least not that I can recall." Natasha scoffed and adjusted her seat. After a bit of silence, she sighed and turned to look across to her fellow agent.

"He's overly cautious, understandably with everything that's going on." Natasha began, almost willing Soren to look at her, "And you know as well as I do that your abilities can escalate matters sometimes."

Soren hated when Natasha agreed with Fury, and she hated it even more when they were right. When she heard Steve board behind her, she turned to make sure the loading area was clear. And man, was she happy she'd turned around first.

Steve was a sight, brandishing his helmet in one hand and his signature shield in the other. He looked like he'd just walked out of a comic book, ready to fight Nazis, and whoever else came after him. But she had to admit, his muscular frame filled out his Red, White, and Blue suit nicely. She turned back just in time to catch Natasha's reaction as well, and her wicked grin nearly sent Soren rolling. This was going to be an exciting flight.

* * *

They arrived in Germany shortly after nightfall. Steve insisted on going in alone, while the others would be his eyes in the sky. So that's where Soren found herself, slumped in her chair as they hovered over a particularly lavish building across from the Gala. The Quinjet sported similar cloaking tech as the Helicarrier, so the threat of being seen was practically impossible. Natasha was scanning the area for more hostiles, so far it was just Loki. Suddenly, people began pouring out of the building. Natasha brought the battle systems online as Soren hailed Steve over the coms.

"This guy is really putting on a show." Two explosions fired off in quick succession before Steve's voice came crackling over her earpiece.

"I'm almost there, what's his position?" Soren pressed a button, and the window in front of her zoomed in on the scene unfolding before them.

"He's standing in front of the crowd. Well, one of him is, looks like he's cloned himself."

"What?" Steve yelled over the comms, "He can do that?"

"Well, if we're going off Norse mythology, which we are, Loki is the God of Mischief. So maybe they are just illusions?" Soren suggested in an upbeat tone.

"Great," Steve replied as he finally made his appearance at the side of the Banquet Hall. Loki was distracted for the moment, he seemed to be giving a speech of some sort. After a few moments, she noticed that the crowd had all kneeled down, all save one older man.

"Cap, hurry," Natasha warned.

Before Soren could ask why, Loki had pointed his scepter at the man and fired some sort of blue energy at him. But instead of hitting the man, it bounced back and caught Loki in the stomach. Steve was now standing in front of the older man, his shield smoking as he made his way forward.

"You know, the last time I was in Germany and saw a man standing above everyone else, we ended up disagreeing," Steve’s voice rang out in the night.

"The Soldier," Loki spat as he used his staff to stand again, "A man out of time."

"I'm not the one who's out of time." Steve shot back as Natasha maneuvered the Quinjet into view. Soren had already begun flipping switches, turning off the cloaking system, and lowering the main gun.

"Loki, drop the weapon and stand down." Natasha's voice demanded over the Quinjet's speakers. He just smiled and sent another blast of energy straight for them. Natasha pulled hard on the controls, the attack barely missing the right wing as it shot off into the night.

The next few moments were a blur as Loki, and the Captain squared off. Soren and Natasha could do nothing but watch as the two men exchanged blow after blow. Every time it seemed Steve had the upper hand; Loki would come back with renewed strength and overpower him. Soren tried to track Loki with the guns, but Steve was always too close.

"This guy's all over the place," Natasha mumbled before an AC/DC song began blasting over the Quinjet speakers. A familiar voice came over the comms, much to the annoyance of Natasha.

"Agent Romanoff, did you miss me?"

Natasha rolled her eyes as she returned her attention to the men in front of them, who were looking around confused. The scanner barely had time to register their unexpected guest before Loki was blasted backward by a repulsor beam. Tony Stark, in his infamous Iron Man suit, landed somewhat gracefully in front of Loki’s prone form.

"Make a move, Reindeer Games," Tony barked, leveling both repulsors at Loki’s chest. As Steve slowly moved to back Stark up, Loki calmly raised his hands and surrendered. "Good move."

"Mr. Stark." Steve greeted him, still a little out of breath.

"Captain."

* * *

The ride back was tense, to say the least. Loki sat on one side of the jet, exuding an air of indifference as he watched them all with hooded eyes. Steve had been pacing the length of the cabin since they came aboard, muttering under his breath and driving most of them crazy. And Stark, He hadn't stopped talking since he showed up. Luckily, Fury had called in for an update, effectively capturing the two men's attention

"Has he said anything?" Fury asked over the comms. Natasha looked over her shoulder before answering.

"Not a word." She murmured into her headset. Soren fidgeted in her seat, trying not to stare at the man who caused so much destruction.

"Just get him here. We're low on time." Fury ordered before signing off.

"I don't like it," Steve said after a few moments. Stark turned to him and gave him a bored look.

"What? Rock of Ages giving up so easily?"

"I don't remember it ever being that easy. This guy packs a wallop."

"Still, you are pretty spry for an old fellow. What's your thing? Pilates?"

"What?"

"It'd like calisthenics. You might have missed a couple things, you know, doing time as a Capsicle." Steve stiffens a bit at that, and Soren can't help herself.

"I have to agree with the Captain on this one, Stark." She began, straightening up in her chair and turning to the two men. "The guy could've blasted you outta the sky. Why didn't he?"

"I'm sorry, who are you again?" Stark snapped before giving her a once over. She could see the gears in his big head whirring to life, and she suddenly wished she'd stayed quiet. "Son of a bitch. Romanoff, since when does Fury let the Kid out on missions? Did Phil sign your permission slip?"

"Yuck it up, Stark." She spat, turning to hide her blush, "You know this doesn't feel right."

"Cap, did you know how young she was before letting her come out past her curfew?" Stark continued, ignoring her completely. She had to restrain herself from shooting the Billionaire. Ever since she'd met the man, he'd done his damnedest to get under her skin.

"Fury didn't tell me he was calling you in," Steve interjected, mercifully changing the subject.

“Yeah, there's a lot of things Fury doesn't tell you." Stark countered.

Suddenly, a lightning strike nearly hit the jet. The crack of thunder that followed was strong enough to rattle the glass. The cabin began to shake violently, as Soren watched the storm form under them.

"Talk about some rough turbulence," Soren commented as she checked the engine status.

"Where's it coming from?" Natasha asked quietly. Soren looked back over her shoulder, just in time to see Loki flinch at the next crack of thunder. Steve seemed to notice, too, as he turned his anger on him instead.

"What's the matter? Afraid of a little lightning?"

"I'm not overly fond of what follows," Loki replied quietly.

Another lightning strike, much stronger than the last, made contact this time. Causing the Quinjet’s instruments to go haywire. A loud thud from outside shakes the whole cabin, sending everyone into action. Steve moved to grab his shield, while Stark slid his helmet back. Before they realized what he was doing, Stark opened the loading ramp.

Before he could head outside, something flew out of the darkness and slammed him into the floor. The object returned the way it came, landing in the hands of a large, blonde man. Thor, Soren, realized as he grabbed Loki by the neck and hauled him out into the storm.

“Now there's this guy,” Stark grumbled as he slowly got back up.

"Another Asgardian?" Natasha yelled over the wind.

"That was Thor, Loki's brother!" Soren yelled back, sighing in relief as the navigation system, and comms slowly came back online.

"Think the guy's a friendly?" Steve asked, almost hopeful.

"It doesn't matter. If he frees Loki or kills him, the Tesseract's lost." Stark interrupted as he headed after Thor.

"Stark, we need a plan of attack!" Steve insisted.

"I have a plan. Attack." Stark quipped back as he rocketed out of the jet.

"That man has a death wish," Soren mumbled as Steve pulled on a parachute.

"I'd sit this one out, Cap," Natasha warned, as Soren started unbuckling her seatbelt.

"I don't see how I can." He replied, tightening the straps as he walked towards the ramp.

"Neither can I," Soren announced, making eye contact with Natasha before rolling her eyes and grabbing a parachute of her own, "I'm comin too, and if you know what's good for you, you won't argue."

To his credit, Steve didn't, he simply nodded and stepped off the ramp. Natasha, on the other hand, let out an exasperated sigh.

"Ren, no. Fury will have my ass if I let you go out there," 

"Don't Ren me, Nat." Soren replied roughly, as she stepped towards the exit, "Besides, the big guy may recognize me and calm down."

"The last time you saw each other, you almost died," Natasha argued, a hint of actual concern in her tone.

"Yeah, but I learned a new trick thanks to that little encounter. And I'm just itchin to try it out."


	3. Flying Monkeys

Soren landed about twenty yards from Steve, and together they made their way towards the sound of fighting. When they crested a ridge, they saw Stark and Thor beating the shit out of each other. Soren scanned the area for Loki and found him on a small outcropping not far from their position. He hadn't tried to escape, and that unnerved her more than anything.

"So listen, I've met Thor before. Briefly, but he's a good guy. Stubborn as a mule and a bit full of himself, but who isn't around here." Soren started as they made their way closer to the noise, "My point is, he can be talked down. Loki, on the other hand, doesn't seem like he's workin with a full toolset. If you can get those two to stop fighting, I'll keep an eye on Loki. Make sure he doesn't pull a disappearing act."

"And what makes you so sure you could stop him if he tried?" Steve inquired innocently. She tried not to be too insulted.

"I have a few tricks up my sleeve." She replied as she broke off and headed towards Loki. He seemed engrossed in the fight unfolding before him, but she wasn't that naive. She slowly approached the trickster, never taking her eyes off him.

"Quite the view we have up here, wouldn't you agree, Agent Smith?" Loki asked as he turned lazily in her direction. She saw no point in getting her ass handed to her by the god, so she simply plopped down beside him and took in the view.

"They're going to kill each other," She commented quietly, wincing as Thor slammed Stark through a tree.

"We could only hope, my dear." He replied with a smile in his voice. She looked at him then, studying his features. He seemed the bookish type, pale, thin, with a smile that betrayed sadness. When she didn't speak, he cocked his head and tried again. "Don't you want to know how I knew your name?"

"You have a fellow agent of mine under your control. I would assume he told you." She said as calmly as she could, feeling the anger build inside of her at the thought of Clint.

"You assume correctly," He purred, leaning closer to her, "He did tell me the most interesting things about you."

"I'm sure he did, and some of them may even be true." He chuckled at that, leaning even closer as the fight below drug on.

"You often lie to your allies?"

"Comes with the job, really. I'm sure you can relate to that, being the God of Mischief and all ... Did you actually turn yourself into a mare and birth a foal with six legs?" Loki stared at her with a horrified expression.

"What? Why would I? Who said I..."

"Just checking to see which legends are true," She chuckled as she leaned towards him this time. "So, why haven't you tried to escape yet?"

"Why would I do that? I’d miss out on all the fun."

"Of course," She mused as she slipped her hand closer to his, "How stupid of me."

The sudden stillness of the fight below was her only warning before a powerful gust of wind blew them both backward. Soren used the distraction to grab Loki by the arm. Before he could react, she sent an electric shock pulsing through his body, strong enough to kill ten men. However, Loki was no man and simply fell unconscious. She made sure to cuff him again before looking back to see that the fight was over.

"What the hell is going on over here?" Tony bellowed as he hovered above them. Thor and Steve were below him, also looking at her with differing levels of confusion.

"Calm down, Stark. I was just entertaining our guest while you neanderthals played whose hammer is bigger." She scoffed as she brushed the dirt from her suit. "I believe it's time to go, gentlemen."

They all watched her go in confusion, only Steve seemed to be able to compose himself enough to grab Loki and begin hauling him back to the Quinjet. She tried not to look too smug as she returned to her seat, beaten and bloody men in tow.

* * *

They had rendezvoused with the Helicarrier early that morning. And after the lengthy debriefing, in which Fury berated them all for acting like children, Soren had hoped to finally get some rest. Instead, she was tasked with escorting the annoying Billionaire around. Which was why she found herself pacing an empty hallway, sighing impatiently as she waited for Tony to get cleaned up. Her frustration mounting, she pounded on the door for the third time.

“Five more minutes.” He answered in a singsong voice.

Soren ran her hands through her shoulder-length, blond hair and tried not to scream. She wanted news on Clint, she desperately needed a shower, and she wanted to wring Tony Stark’s stupid neck; not necessarily in that order. When she saw Coulson round the corner, she nearly wept with relief.

“Please tell me you're here to relieve me,” She began as he made his way over to her, “If I have to listen to his voice much longer, I might shoot him.”

“I’m here to escort both of you to the bridge,” He replied, giving her a stern look as he folded his arms, “and to find out what really happened last night.”

“Exactly what I told Hill.” She answered, meeting his eyes with a glare of her own.

“You were meant to go as support only, Soren.” He started, going into full dad mode, “Loki is….”

“Loki is sitting in that glorified fishbowl thanks to me. Those idiots would’ve let him slip away because they were too busy talking with their fists.”

“That’s not the point, and you know it.”

“I’m not sure what the point is in hiding anymore, Coulson. I can take care of myself.”

Coulson’s face softened, and he was about to continue when they heard the click of the door handle. Tony walked out, dressed in a dark brown suit, glancing between the two before a wide grin spread across his smug face. Soren’s hand itched to slap it off him.

“Am I interrupting a family spat?” He asked, voice dripping in sarcasm.

“Let’s just go.” Soren spat as she began walking towards the bridge.

The two men followed at a distance, talking amongst themselves in hushed tones. When she made it to the bridge, the others were already in deep conversation. She quietly slipped into a seat next to Natasha, throwing a wink at Thor, who simply stared at her.

“Iridium,” Bruce said as she settled into her seat, “What did they need the Iridium for?”

“It’s a stabilizing agent,” Tony called from the door before whispering something to Coulson. Soren didn’t meet his eyes as her Mentor made his way back to his standard post.

“Means the portal won’t collapse on itself like it did at S.H.I.E.L.D.” Tony continued, patting Thor on the arm as he made his way over to the command deck. “No hard feelings, Point Break. You’ve got a mean swing.”

Soren had already heard all this on the way here and strategically decided to ignore Stark’s antics until new information could be gleaned. She instead turned her attention to Natasha, who seemed equally bored.

“Heard anything?” She asked quietly. Natasha just shook her head slowly, glancing reflexively to one of the screens across the way.

“Does Loki need any particular kind of power source?” Steve asked, drawing Soren’s attention back to the task at hand.

“He’s got to heat the cube to a hundred twenty million Kelvin just to break through the Coulomb barrier.” Bruce offered as Soren and Steve shared a confused look.

“Unless Selvig has figured out how to stabilize the quantum tunneling effect.” Tony countered, seemingly interested in the Doctor’s presence.

“Well, if he could do that, he could achieve Heavy Ion Fusion at any reactor on the planet.” Bruce replied, looking equally as excited.

“Finally, someone who speaks English.” Tony sighed as he made his way around the table.

“Is that what just happened?” Steve asked, causing Soren to snicker under her breath.

“Looks like there’s two of them now,” Soren commented as the two geniuses shook hands.

“Doctor Banner is only here to track the cube.” Fury’s voice boomed across the bridge, “I was hoping you might join him.”

“Let's start with that stick of his. It may be magical, but it works an awful lot like a HYDRA weapon.” Steve interjected. Fury stiffened at the mention of the old Nazi group, but simply straightened his overcoat and continued.

“I don't know about that, but it is powered by the cube. And I'd like to know how Loki used it to turn two of the sharpest men I know into his personal flying monkeys.”

“Monkeys?” Thor asked, brows furrowed in deep confusion, “I do not understand.”

“I do!” Steve piped up excitedly, going a bit pink at the silence that followed his outburst. “I understood that reference.” Tony rolled his eyes behind him as Soren shot Steve an encouraging smile.

Pretty soon, they all went their separate ways. Tony and Bruce had gone straight to the lab, Steve left to take a shower, and Natasha said she needed to clear her head. Which Soren knew meant she was going to punch something, repeatedly. That left her on the bridge with Thor, who was still rooted in the same spot she’d found him in.

“So, you seem slightly distracted.” She began as he turned to face her.

“I remember you, Lady Soren.”

“Just Soren is fine, you worried about something other than Loki?”

“If Loki has Erik, I worry about Jane’s safety.”

“Oh, we took care of that,” Soren said as she motioned for Coulson to come over, “You remember Agent Coulson. He can debrief you on Doctor Foster’s current status.”

“Of course, greetings Son of Cole.” Thor boomed as he clapped Coulson on the back. Soren shot him an apologetic smile as she headed for her quarters for a much-needed nap.

* * *

“Soren, come in!” Natasha’s voice crackled over her earpiece as Soren sat up awkwardly. It seemed she’d slept longer than she thought as she tried to shake the cobwebs from her mind.

“I’m here, what is so damned important?”

“Loki means to unleash the Hulk.” That got her attention as she hastily began redressing, she would kill to know who put so many zippers and straps on her uniform.

“Where is Banner now?” Soren asked as she pulled on a boot.

“In the lab, keep him there I’m on my way. Grab Thor too.”

“Copy that.” Soren signed off as she jogged down the hall to Thor’s temporary quarters and pounded her fist on the door. The god appeared in seconds, only half-clothed from the waist down. If she hadn’t been in such a hurry, she would’ve appreciated the view.

“Dude, put on a shirt, will ya!” She yelled, trying to hide her blush, “We need to get to the lab now.” Thor didn’t bother shutting the door as he pulled his armor back on.

“What has happened? Did they find the Tesseract?”

“Not exactly, but we did find out why Loki let us capture him.”

“My brother, always a hidden motive. What is he after?”

“It’s a bit hard to explain, I’ll tell you on the way. Let’s go!”

They moved quickly to the elevator, Soren punched the button a few times, willing the damned thing to move faster. On the excruciatingly slow ride, she explained Doctor Banner’s unique situation. To his credit, Thor took the whole thing in stride. Even asking some questions about Banner’s condition.

When the elevator finally stopped, they quickly made their way to the lab. Natasha met them at the door, breathing heavy as they slipped into the room. They shared a look and fanned out casually, well as casual as Thor could be as he planted himself in the center of the room. Natasha sidled up to Banner on one side, while Soren positioned herself on the other.

The room was tense as the discussion they had interrupted escalated. Insults were thrown, and accusations flew around the room. Soren tried to focus on one conversation at a time, looking for the primary source of the fighting. Steve and Tony were chest to chest, Fury was motioning to a screen that Banner was holding, and then Thor started insulting everyone. Even Natasha began getting defensive.

But Soren couldn’t focus on any of it, as an almost crippling hum started overpowering her senses. The back of her neck began to ache as the noise grew louder until it was all she could hear. Her eyes searched the room frantically for the source until they landed on the scepter, which was currently behind Bruce.

As soon as he touched it, the sound stopped, and Soren fell to her knees. She felt like vomiting as Steve helped her to her feet. He moved her behind him, shielding her from a threat she couldn’t see. As she took in the quietness of the room, she saw everyone go into a defensive stance.

“Doctor Banner,” Steve said calmly, drawing Soren’s attention forward, “Put down the scepter.”

Bruce balked for a moment before looking down in disbelief. He opened his mouth a few times, obviously dumbfounded, before a beeping from the back of the room drew their attention.

“Sorry, kids,” Bruce mumbled as he placed the scepter down and headed for the computer, “You don’t get to see my little party trick after all.”

“Located the Tesseract?” Thor demanded before the room erupted into more arguing. It was only a few seconds, but between the constant bickering and her fear of what had just happened to her, she snapped.

“Shut up! All of you just shut up!!” She screamed, causing the room to fall silent again. Every eye in the room landed on her, finally noticing her unstable condition. Steve, being the closest, moved to help her sit down. His was the last face she saw before an explosion rocked the Helicarrier.


	4. Make It Count

Soren carefully sat up, shaking her head as she struggled to take in the chaos around her. Comms were fading in and out, she only caught bits, and pieces of the orders Fury and Hill were throwing around. It wasn’t until someone grabbed her by the arm and hauled her to her feet, that everything snapped back into focus.

“Soren, are you hurt?” Coulson breathed as he scanned her for visible injuries. When he found none, his shoulders relaxed slightly, “You have to help secure the bridge. Keep us in the air.”

He helped her to one of the sturdier railings, but she grabbed his sleeve before he could leave. When he turned back to her, he wore a gentle smile. Every memory of the past six years flew by in a blur of emotion. When she tried to give voice to her feelings, it was barely a whisper.

“Phil…" 

"I know you can do this, Soren. Stay safe out there." He urged as he gently removed her hand. She looked on in silence as he disappeared down a flight of stairs.

Soren took a few calming breaths before squaring her shoulders and scanning the area for her superiors. Fury was calmly giving orders to Agent Hill, who, in turn, motioned to two agents as she moved towards the exit. Before she could get very far, the distinct sound of metal ratling to the floor caught her attention. 

“Grenade!” Soren screamed just as it went off. If the bridge had been confused before, it was utter chaos now. Soldiers in S.H.I.E.L.D. gear appeared in the doorway, assault rifles trained on the room. Soren and Fury each took a side and fought the men back. The last one was advancing fast but was expertly dispatched by Hill, who was now bleeding from a head wound.

“Nice of you to join us, Agent Smith.” Fury quipped as reports started pouring in.

“Sir, the Hulk and Thor are in shuttle levels 2, 3, and 4.” Agent Sitwell barked as the other Agents took defensive positions.

"The Hulk?" Soren asked in horror as she fired her sidearm into the hallway. 

“Sir, the Hulk will tear this place apart!” Hill yelled over the gunfight. Fury just sighed before firing a few shots of his own.

“Get his attention.” He ordered as he reloaded his pistol, hesitating only a second before firing at the catwalk above. Soren immediately moved her attention to the new threat and spotted Barton taking cover.

“Sir, we can’t just…” She began before an arrow flies past her head, “Okay, maybe we can.”

More men filed into the room, immediately opening fire on anyone too close. Soren could only watch as her fellow agents were gunned down in front of her. She popped out of cover and took down two more before another of Barton's arrows whizzed past, only this one hits the mark. An explosion rocks the bridge before new alarms start blaring around them. Suddenly, the Helicarrier begins to tilt to one side, and fast.

“Sir, we’ve lost all power to Engine 1,” Sitwell reports as they all try and regain their footing.

"Agent Smith, I think it's high time we took off your training wheels," Fury says calmly before relaying Barton's position to Natasha. 

“Sir?” Soren asks weakly, staring at him until he turns with a tight smile. “I’m not sure I can…”

"You have to. Otherwise, we all go for a swim." He states in a very straightforward manner as he presses a button on his control panel. A sudden jolt to the back of her head sends a flood of power to her system. Her eyes fall shut as all of her muscles tense at the pressure. They snap open again when Fury calls her name.

"I've never heard you say that you can't do something, Soren. Don't make today any different."

They stared at each other for a moment before she nodded and walked over to the viewing platform. The Helicarrier was losing altitude at an alarming rate. From her vantage point, she watched as two planes collided with one another, causing an explosion. She had to look past all of it, though. Instead, she focused on the horizon.

Lifting her hand to the glass, she let her mind go blank. She imagined the Helicarrier was a leaf, falling gently to the ground, then a sudden wind lifting it into the air again. Fury stood nearby in silence, alternating between watching the monitors and observing the girl in front of him.

He watched as her hair began to shift as if blown by a sudden breeze, and then the numbers that had been falling rapidly, slowed to a stop. They slowly began rising, and soon, the Helicarrier gradually righted itself. Once he had confirmation that Stark was successful in fixing the engine, he slowly approached Soren.

“You did good, Agent Smith.” He commented quietly, not failing to notice the odd discoloration on the back of her neck. When she didn’t answer, he moved to stand in front of her. Her eyes were glazed over, and a small trickle of blood was under her nose. He placed his hand on her shoulder, lowering her to the ground gently. When she finally blinked and focused on him again, he sighed in relief.

“Agent Hill, make sure Agent Smith is seen to. I’m headed to the detention level.”

"Of course, Sir." She answered as a medical team rushed onto the bridge. 

“Oh, Agent Smith,” Fury said over his shoulder, “Shadow protocol is suspended for now, we need you at your best today.”

“And after, sir?” She asked quietly, but he was already gone.

Very few people knew about Soren's abilities, and she had worked hard to keep it that way. Natasha and Clint known from the beginning, but neither of them knew about the dampener implanted in her skull. A precaution that Fury deemed necessary for Soren to be accepted into S.H.I.E.L.D. in the first place. The only people that knew about it were Hill and Coulson, even Soren wasn’t exactly sure what the thing did, just that it kept her powers in check. Now that Fury had disabled it, she wondered how long they would stay that way.

Hill came over with one of the medical team’s bags, making sure to examine Soren herself. The two women didn't speak as Hill worked to spread a cooling gel over Soren's implant, both choosing comfortable silence over empty conversation. After a few minutes, Soren waved her off, and she went to see about the others. It was in this moment of calm that Fury's voice broke through the silence, ripping through them all like shrapnel.

“Agent Coulson is down.”

* * *

"It just had to be you, didn't it?"

Soren stood in the dark belly of the Helicarrier, glaring at the blood-stained wall where her former mentor had been found. She had been there for a while now going over the events of the day. How had everything gone so wrong? Why didn't he wait for backup? She was so lost in thought that she didn't hear Steve’s approach.

"I'm sorry for your loss," He offered solemnly, reaching out to place his large hand on her shoulder. "Agent Coulson seemed like a good man."

Her first reaction was to shrug it off, to yell and scream and curse him for not being there for someone who idolized him above anyone else. Instead, she took a shaky breath and turned to thank him. When she saw genuine sorrow in his eyes, she nearly broke down right there.

"Stupid… he was stupid to try and take Loki on by himself." She could feel the hot tears threatening to spill over her lashes as she returned her attention to the massive hole in the wall. "At least he got a shot off, probably pissed the psycho off to get caught off guard like that."

"It looks like he had a solid plan." Steve began as he tilted the tablet in his hand to let her take a look. "He was trying to distract him and get to the containment controls."

"Ok, so let Thor out and then what? Fall back?" Soren asked in a huff, as she took in Coulson's determined glare on the screen. "He would've stayed, made sure the job was done right. He is…was that stubborn. It was his best and most annoying quality."

"Sounds like he had a good heart," Steve commented softly, "like he wasn't about to let someone else die without doing something. He sounds like a true hero."

She turned to him now, finally letting the tears slide down her face. She stared into the eyes of a man she barely knew and found so much of herself in their icy depths. His small nod of understanding was all it took for her to crumble into his chest. He held her for a while as she let the grief overwhelm her. After a few moments, the tears stopped, and she felt composed enough to let go.

"Thanks, Cap… Steve." She corrected herself at the last moment, and the small smile she received told her he appreciated the gesture. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap like that. I just…"

"It's alright," He replied solemnly, "I'm not gonna lie to you, Soren. Losing someone … it never gets easier. But I promise that one day, it won't hurt as much." She considered asking how long that would take, but the look in his eyes told her he didn't know either.

He squeezed her shoulder again before dropping his hand back to his belt. They stood in comfortable silence for a few minutes before Steve suggested they meet with the others. She took another calming breath before nodding in agreement. With one last pained look at the grisly scene, she wordlessly led the way.

* * *

"Wonder which one made this mess." Steve pondered aloud as they slowly made their way back through the wreckage of what was once the main living quarters. Beams hung from the ceiling, exposed wires popped and sizzled angrily as they picked their way to the elevator.

Soren honestly didn't care anymore. She needed a shower, she needed about a month of rest. But looking into the shell-shocked eyes of the other Agents, people who would've usually never seen this level of carnage, she knew she had to keep going. For the ones that were left and the ones that didn't make it. For Coulson and everyone else that believed in her only to be met with disappointment. So she squared her shoulders and finally found her voice.

"How do we make this… How do we make it count?"

"We stop Loki," He breathed as they stepped around two agents that were slowly carrying a third on a stretcher, "whatever it takes."

"I was hoping for a more concrete plan, but that will do for now." She said with a smirk, as they came to a stop before the main bridge doors.

His amused glare was almost enough to lift her mood until Tony came barreling through the doors, nearly knocking her over. He looked like he was about to snap at Steve but stopped short when he saw her face. She'd never seen the man shaken by anything, but she watched curiously as he practically paled in front of her.

"Hey, Kid I … I'm so sorry." He mumbled and was off again in the direction they had come from.

"I'll talk to him." Steve threw over his shoulder as he turned and headed after Tony. Soren just stood there and watched his retreating back until he was out of sight. 

Once he was gone, she was left alone with her thoughts. And it didn't take long for her to realize that was a bad idea. She considered going up to the bridge, but the idea of facing Fury wasn't exactly exciting. Her next thought was to see how Clint was doing, but then Natasha hadn't left his side since they found him. It wasn't until Stark had flown by her again that she realized she hadn't moved at all in the past five minutes.

"Hey kid, uh, we think we know where he's headed." He blurted as he moved past her towards the elevator. On instinct, she grabbed his arm and hauled him back to her, perhaps too roughly if his face was any indication.

"You found him? Where?" When he just gave her a concerned look, she glared and asked again. "I'm going. Where is he, Stark?"

"New York, where else?" He stated as he dramatically plucked her hand off his arm. He entered the elevator with her close on his heels, and when he didn't continue, she gave him a nudge with her elbow.

"He wants a show, a spectacle." He continued with a half-smirk as he punched the button for the hangar. "And I just happen to have the biggest one around." 

"What's the game plan?"

"Well, we aren't at full strength. Uncle Sam is grabbing Mr. and Mrs. Smith, but that's not enough." Tony replied as they descended into the depths of the Helicarrier, "We need Thor and the big guy."

"I can find Thor, as for Banner… I don't know if that's a good idea."

"The best ones are always kind of crazy, right?" He asked with a laugh, then he turned to her suddenly as he registered what she said. "And how exactly do you plan on finding Thor?"

"I slapped a tracker on him after the little scuffle you guys had." She replied with a quirked brow. When he gave her a look, she held up her hands. "I didn't LoJack everybody, just the guy with a history of running off with our prisoners."

"Well, isn't that a relief." He breathed as the doors slid open again, he made a beeline for a big metal container with the Stark Industries logo on the side. "Welp, I found my ride. What's your plan, Kid?”

“For the last time, I’m not a kid,” She huffed as she scanned the hanger for a plane not damaged by the fighting.

“Okay, you’re right.”

“I’m… what?”

“Look, don’t make a big deal of it okay. It does happen occasionally. But after today… I guess you aren’t that kid I met at the EXPO anymore.”

“Yeah, guess not.”

“So? Tick-tock, Freckles. We’ve got a world to save.”

“You just can’t help yourself,” Soren sighed, “Can you Old Man?”

“Not usually no,” Tony chuckled as he assessed the debris that used to be his suit, “I may need a ride too. Anything still flying around here?”

Soren just grinned and headed for the nearest exit. She would never get tired of seeing the look of sheer panic on people's faces when she jumped out of moving vehicles. And Tony Stark's face right now was priceless. He was half hanging from the door before she changed her trajectory and caught up to the Helicarrier again. When she just smiled at him, he shook his head like an exhausted parent.

"I'll meet you in New York, Stark." 


	5. Welcome to New York

Soren glided effortlessly over the water, glancing down every few minutes to confirm Thor’s location. She had been relieved to see that his glass cage hadn't crashed into the ocean, but had found purchase on a small island. He hadn't moved since she activated the tracker, however, which did nothing to calm her nerves. Just as she made landfall, a powerful lightning storm appeared a few miles inland.

“Well shit,” She huffed, keeping a safe distance from the storm. When it was over, she was grateful to see a heavily armored Thor zoom past her. He stopped just short of the water’s edge, cocking his head before gliding back in her direction.

“Lady Soren!” He called out to her as he sailed across the beach, landing heavily and stirring up a cloud of sand, “How fairs the battle?"

"Loki got away, but we know where he's headed." She replied stiffly. Thor nodded, his brow furrowing slightly at her tone.

“And what of Coulson?” When she just shook her head, he cursed under his breath. “I must put an end to this.”

“Yeah, well, we have to get you to New York first," She sighed, punching the coordinates for Stark Tower into her G.P.S. When Thor didn’t respond, she turned to see him staring at the horizon.

“When we were children, Loki was always a bit mischievous, but he was never this … cruel.” He shook his head, not meeting Soren’s eyes as he walked past her. "I was a fool. I saw his melancholy in Asgard, but I turned a blind eye to it. I was so focused on the glory of conquest, I failed to see how my Father's favoritism was slowly driving Loki away."

“Thor, I know he’s your brother, but he has done horrible things. Not just here but to you and your people as well. He’s not the same boy you grew up with." At that, he turned to her finally, his jaw tightening as he stared down at her.

“Am I supposed to just lie down and accept that he is irredeemable? To allow you and the others to exact justice without mercy?”

"He didn't show any mercy when he killed Coulson!"She spat at him. Instead of firing back, he simply stared at her for a moment before dropping his head and sighing tiredly.

“I am truly sorry, Soren. But I will not abandon my brother.” Thor replied, kicking up sand as he began to pace the beach again. “I suspect Loki is being manipulated, similarly to your friend Barton.”

“So what if he is? He wasn’t mind-controlled when he tried to take over Asgard!”

"Try to understand!" He yelled before coming to a sudden stop in front of her. She could feel the storm raging within him calm as he took a ragged breath. His voice was much softer when he continued. "Loki is my family, even if he does not wish it to be so. My love for him runs deeper than my own blood. I cannot lose him, not again." 

"I .. I suppose it's possible," Soren admitted hesitantly, recognizing the pained look in Thor's eyes, "He did seem less focused after I zapped him. Maybe when the staff reactivated, it triggered some sort of ingrained hypnosis.”

“The staff? What do you mean?”

“While y’all were arguing in the lab, the staff was emitting a high-pitched squeal. It gave me an instant migraine. You didn’t hear it?”

When Thor just shook his head, Soren’s hand instinctively went to the small scar at the base of her skull. It was about two inches long and usually unnoticeable. Now, as she gently ran her fingers over it, she could feel several fracture-like lines that had sprouted around it. When she realized that Thor was staring at her, she dropped her hand and lifted into the air again.

“Either way, it’s definitely somethin to think about. If one of us could knock him out again, it may end the war before it begins.”

“It seems we have a plan of attack, we should return to the others,” He agreed as he began spinning his hammer, “And Soren, leave Loki to me.”

* * *

“Welcome to New York… or what’s left of it anyway,” Soren announced solemnly. She and Thor hovered over the Brooklyn Bridge, assessing the bleak scene before them.

The city was a warzone. Explosions went off every few minutes as the Alien invaders zoomed around on what appeared to be chariots. People were pouring out of buildings only to be mercilessly shot down by the ground troops. The N.Y.P.D. was doing its best to get a handle on the situation. But no one could've prepared for the hell that literally fell out of the sky.

“I’ll find the others; you should get to the portal. Loki is probably guarding it." She ordered as she zeroed in on Stark's suit zooming by. Thor nodded and rocketed towards the writhing hole in the sky.

“Stark, you miss me?” She called over the comms.

A small chuckle was her only warning before he was barreling towards her with half a dozen Chitauri on his tail. “Good of you to join us, Freckles. Duck!”

Soren dove down as the group flew past her towards the bridge, watching in amazement as Tony effortlessly zigzagged out of their reach. She could see he was leading them to the river and decided to have a little fun of her own. She took a deep breath, and stretched out her hand, willing the water towards her. Tony’s trajectory wobbled a bit, as the wall of water crashed over the group, sending the invaders careening into the dark depths below.

“How… what just happened?” He asked, now dripping wet as he hovered over the river.

“I thought you needed to cool off.” She quipped, crossing her arms in triumph. She could feel him rolling his eyes behind his helmet.

"So, it seems you aren’t a one-trick pony after all. Any more fantastical abilities I need to know about?" He asked sarcastically, "And where was all this when I was getting my ass handed to me by a demigod?"

Before she could reply, another explosion pulled their attention back to the real threat. Tony wasted no more time and shot off into the city, Soren following close behind. He was uncharacteristically silent until the Tower came into view.

“You find Fabio?” He asked right before a bolt of lightning struck the upper floor, “Nevermind. Find out how it’s going up there while I lose these assholes.”

She nodded as he took off, attracting even more soldiers while she made her way to the roof. Thor and Loki were locked in combat, neither seeming to give an inch. Soren took the opportunity to go even higher and scoped out the machine that held the Tesseract. She hesitated a moment before raising her hand towards the device. Before she could do anything, Tony’s snarky voice came in over the comms.

“Don’t try it, Freckles. My guns just bounced off the thing. Don’t want you blowing up my nice building.”

“Thanks for spoiling my fun, Gramps.”

“Your welcome. Now I suppose it would be too much to ask for an off switch or something.”

“What about Selvig? He’s up here; maybe he knows somethin.” She commented as she prodded his limp form with her boot. “Scratch that, he’s out cold.”

The sound of the Quinjet pulled her attention back to the fight below. She stared on in horror as Loki fired an energy blast that connected with one of the jet's turbines. It limped along for a few seconds before catching fire and dropping into a tailspin.

She reacted on instinct, hurtling herself towards the now falling aircraft. Letting her mind go blank again, she helped guide the machine safely to the ground. Steve was the first to make it out, and he just stared at her in shock. Natasha and Clint weren’t far behind, walking past her calmly as they assessed the carnage around them.

"Since when can you do that?" Steve demanded abruptly, causing Natasha to immediately move between the two. "I mean… how?" 

"It's okay, Nat," Soren said, slowly moving towards him. She couldn't help feeling a bit hurt when he took an unconscious step back. "Steve, I know this is weird, but I swear I'll answer all the questions I can when we get out of this mess."

“What else you got up your sleeve?” He inquired calmly, making a conscious effort to look her in the eye. "I can't strategize if I don't know what we're all capable of.”

"I'm an Elementalist," She asserted.

When he nodded for her to continue, she held out her hand and slowly made a fist. He watched her curiously, eyes widening as a solid boulder formed in front of her. She waited for two beats and then flung her arm towards a passing Chitauri soldier. The rock followed her command and flew forward, flattening the creature against a nearby wall.

“Well, that’s … impressive. So Air, Water, Earth, Fire? You can manipulate them all?”

"Yep and Loki can attest to my control over Electricity." She answered with a smirk. Clint, who had been observing the enemy's movements, came back around the corner, looking very determined.

“They aren’t slowing down.” He reported, looking less than pleased. “If we don’t end this soon, the city will be overrun.

“We need to get back up there,” Steve said, glancing back at the portal, motioning for the others to follow him.

They hadn't made it far before a guttural moan from above stopped them in their tracks. As they looked on in confusion, a massive whale-like creature came rolling out of the portal. It slowly made its way down the street, dispensing a horde of soldiers along the way. 

“Oh come on, how is _that_ fair?" Soren whined as the four took cover behind an abandoned taxi.

“They’ve got civilians trapped in those buildings,” Clint shouted before a squad of chariots raced past them.

They opened fire on the street below, destroying anyone in their path. Loki was leading the charge, laughing maniacally as he sent blue bolts of energy flying.

“They’re fish in a barrel down there,” Steve commented as he surveyed the oncoming threats. He turned to Natasha, who was already firing at the soldiers.

“We got this. Go!” She replied hastily, before popping up and firing again.

“You think you can hold them off?” Steve directed to the others.

“Captain,” Clint began as he adjusted his quiver, “It would be my genuine pleasure.”

With that, He turned and fired an arrow at the nearest soldier. It unsurprisingly hit its mark, exploding and sending smaller projectiles hurtling towards its allies. Soren just gave him a small smile as two balls of fire appeared in her hands.

“We’re good, Steve, just make sure the cops keep those civies back.” She assured with a wink before moving in to back up Clint. 

The three Agents made quick work of the Chitauri on the bridge. They had soon moved on to evacuating civilians still in the area. Clint was busy unloading a whole bus full of kids. Soren hovered close by, scorching anything that got too close, as he forced the door open. The kids poured out, heading towards Natasha, who guided them to a subway entrance.

“Guys, we’ve got more incoming,” Soren warned as more soldiers descended on the bridge. The three moved quickly to find more defensible positions. Natasha fired several shots past Soren as she ducked behind an overturned vehicle.

“Just like Budapest all over again!” She yelled in Clint’s direction. He seemed genuinely pleased at the memory but was almost immediately distracted by an oncoming soldier.

“You and I remember Budapest very differently.” He quipped back, firing three shots in quick succession.

“Could you two please get your shit together?” Soren complained as she slammed two Chitauri into each other, their limp bodies falling to the ground. “I’m tired of your vague flirting, just kiss and be done with it.”

Before either Agent could react, they were bombarded again by soldiers. Clint jabbed an arrow through the throat of one and then used the same arrow to shoot another. Natasha’s ammo had been spent, but ever the opportunist, she acquired a Chitauri staff and used their own technology against them. Soren had been circling the bridge, lighting up anything that got too close and throwing up walls to confuse their movements.

Suddenly, Steve’s shield whizzed past, taking out a group of soldiers who had snuck up on Clint. The man himself was not far behind, jumping into the fray with gusto. Before another group could advance on them, lightning rained down from the sky, frying them all where they stood. Thor landed a moment later, leaning heavily on one side.

“What’s the story upstairs?” Steve asked as the group pulled in tighter.

“The power surrounding the cube is impenetrable,” Thor replied solemnly.

“Thor is right,” Tony chimed in over the comms, “We gotta deal with these guys.”

“How do we do this?” Natasha asked, looking slightly defeated.

“As a team!” Steve affirmed enthusiastically.

“I have unfinished business with Loki.” Thor declared. Behind him, Clint was repurposing some spent arrows.

“Yeah? Get in line.” He mumbled.

“Save it!” Steve ordered as more of the soldiers past overhead.

Soren flew higher, trying to get a bead on Loki’s position. The argument below her was soon drowned out by the roar of a motorcycle engine. Bruce Banner, caked in dirt and grime, parked the bike and slowly walked towards the team. She greeted him with a smile before catching sight of the Leviathan careening towards them.

Bruce approached the beast calmly, and in one swift movement, he transformed into the Hulk, smashing the creature in the face. Its momentum carried it further, tipping its body forward until Tony launched a rocket into its side. The force of the explosion redirected the behemoth’s course, sending chunks of flesh and metal plating flying in all directions. When it finally fell still, the angered cries of the invaders echoed across the city.

“I think we’ve got their attention,” Soren commented, hovering closer to Tony as he scanned the area. The victory was short-lived as two more Leviathans came through the portal. Steve immediately began doling out orders. She and Stark were asked to keep the fighting as contained as possible from the air.

“Wishing you’d stayed on the Helicarrier, Freckles?” Tony asked over the comms as they began their patrol of the perimeter.

“Not one bit,” She replied with a wicked grin, blasting a soldier off a nearby building, "Now let's kick some Alien ass!" 

* * *

The battle raged on for what felt like hours. Soren split her time between keeping the invaders from roaming too far from the Tower and watching out for her teammates. When a large squad of chariots banked towards Steve and Natasha, she flipped around and began lobbing fireballs at their flank. She passed by Thor and Tony, taking down yet another Leviathan. Clint was keeping them all organized from his perch, and she dispatched some of his unwanted guests.

She was coming around for another pass when a bolt of blue energy slammed her in the chest, sending her flying into a nearby building. She used her abilities to soften the landing, but it wasn’t enough to stop her from careening through the walls, startling the cowering civilians inside.

Soren tried to sit up, but her chest felt like it had been caved in. Dark spots danced in her peripheral, and she couldn’t hear anything over the ringing in her ears. She felt so tired like she hadn’t slept in weeks. She closed her eyes, teetering on the edge of oblivion when she felt herself slip away.

A feeling of loss began to overwhelm Soren, she had forgotten something, someone maybe. As if on cue, a face started to form in the darkness. It was a man’s face. He had a square jaw, piercing blue eyes, dark hair hanging over one side of his face. He looked almost sad as he said something she couldn’t hear. She knew his name she had to. He was important to her. Why couldn’t she remember? He slowly lifted a hand and cupped her face; it was as cold as steel.

“I know you,” Soren whispered to the man, he gave her a sad smile as he leaned into her, “I’ll find you, I swear.”

“Wake up, Doll.”

Panicked screaming roused her in time to see the Hulk barrel through the office building, slamming into the mouth of a Leviathan. She limped towards the gaping hole he had left and took a steadying breath. Her comms crackled as several voices called her name in various levels of panic.

“Guys calm down; I’m tougher than I look.” She replied before shaking herself and jumping back into the fight. She scanned the surrounding block before locking onto her target.

“Thor, we’re runnin out of time. We gotta do somethin about your brother.”

“Loki is of Asgard, it will take a great deal of force to defeat him.” Thor replied with a grunt, “And he will be wary of your lightening, so I would not try that parlor trick again.”

The guttural roar of the Hulk snagged her attention. He was carving a path down the street, slamming his massive fists into the cars around him. An idea was starting to form in her head. She approached him cautiously, making an effort to take out as many soldiers as she could. Once they were close enough, she stepped in front of him.

“I’ve got an idea, but I need your help,” She began, keeping her hands in plain view so she wouldn’t startle him. When he merely grunted at her, she continued, “If I can get him to stand still, you think you can take out Loki?”

It was odd, looking into his green eyes and seeing remnants of the mild-mannered Doctor trapped within. He seemed to understand, even looking at the Tower and back to her, seemingly picking the perfect spot. She turned and lifted a nearby car, just high enough to get her point across. He grunted again, this time in a positive way, a menacing smile plastered on his face.

“Guys, if we can take out Loki, they’ll be less organized.” She announced over the comms. “I’ve got an idea, not a great one, but we’re runnin out of time.”

“Just tell us what you need,” Steve answered, sounding a bit out of breath. A group of chariots zoomed past, chasing what looked to be Natasha with a chariot of her own. Loki was in the lead, aiming his scepter at her.

“We need to get Loki to the tower, I got a feelin we’re gonna need that magic stick of his," Soren called out, cringing as Natasha scraped the side of a building.

“Well, he’s obviously occupied. It would be nice if I could get some assistance. Hawkeye, a little help.” Natasha answered, angling her chariot towards the Tower.

“I got him,” Clint confirmed before Loki’s chariot exploded, sending the god flying onto the Tower’s balcony.

“Nice shot, Hawkeye,” Soren said, glancing in the archer’s direction.

Clint wore a massive grin as he tipped an invisible hat to her. She lifted the Hulk up a few hundred feet before launching him towards the Tower. She waited until he reemerged before venturing there herself. She found Loki lying in a crater, wheezing and looking utterly dejected.

“Well, that was a bit dramatic," Natasha called from behind her, she was holding Loki's scepter and looking particularly unimpressed.

“What can I say,” Soren said with a grin, “I like to make an impression.”

Natasha just snorted and made her way to the elevator. “I’m going to go save the world, make sure he doesn’t go anywhere.”

Soren shifted her attention to Loki, who hadn't moved from his crater. She approached him slowly, hovering a bit just in case he was playing possum. When he didn’t react, she floated down to him and assessed his injuries.

His face was already bruising, and there was blood trickling from his mouth. His pale face was serene, lacking his usual scowl. His chest rose and fell gently as she brushed some debris off of his face. He looked so young and sad somehow, even in his unconscious state.

She could see it now, how Thor could want so desperately to save him. No matter what Loki had done, he would always be his kid brother. And she knew all too well, that kind of love never went away. Soren wondered what he had been like before trying to overthrow Asgard. Before someone convinced him that he didn’t have a say in who he became. After a few minutes, she felt his eyes on her.

“Come to gawk at the fallen god? To see me broken before the might of your friends?” He spat weakly.

“Nope, just here to keep you company until they close the portal.”

“Oh, I remember well what your company feels like.” She sighed and stood, dusting off her suit.

“Loki, I’m not gonna lie. I’m not your biggest fan right now. But I promised your brother I would help you. So, how do you feel now?”

“How am I feeling?” He growled, attempting to sit up and failing, “I was bludgeoned by an ogre, how should I feel?”

“I was more concerned with your mind, actually. You Asgardians are pretty sturdy.”

“My mind?” He asked as his brow furrowed, “Why would you…”

His eyes clouded slightly, as he turned towards the battle still raging outside. The screams of civilians echoed across the city. As he took it all in, she could've sworn she saw tears forming in his eyes. When he looked back at her, his mouth was in a tight line.

“Loki, it’s very likely that this,” Soren began gently, gesturing towards the balcony, “wasn’t your fault. Barton said you took orders from someone, is it possible you were being controlled like he was?”

"I… I don't." He was shaking now, eyes roaming around the room, searching for something she couldn't see. "I never saw him, he was…powerful.”

“It’s okay, Loki,” Soren whispered as she laid a hand on his shoulder. This proved to be a mistake, as Loki jerked away from her touch.

“I have caused you great pain, so do not pretend to care for me human,” He faltered for a moment, studying her with ice-cold eyes. “Perhaps I have misspoken, you are as much a human as I am.”

“What are you…?” Before she could finish her question, Natasha’s voice came in over the comms.

“I can close it! Can anybody read me? I can shut the portal down.”

“It seems like your allies are more formidable than I gave them credit for." Loki commented from his relaxed position on the floor, “What will they say, I wonder. When they find out what you truly are.”

Whatever else was happening outside, Soren didn’t hear it. She was focused on the god’s words as he shakily stood up from his crater. He didn’t advance as she assumed he would, he merely stumbled towards the bar.

“Oh, I’m sure a few of them would try to sympathize. After all, they cannot call themselves fully human anymore either. But what about your real friends, the Widow, the Hawk? And what would your mentor have thought? To know how utterly wrong he was about you.”

His words bore into her, carving out her worst fears and bringing them to light. Every nightmare of her friends' deaths at her own hands. Every horrid memory of her life before S.H.I.E.L.D. found her. The image of Coulson, slumped against the wall, blood still pooling on the floor.

And that was her snapping point. Before Loki could react, she had flung him against the wall. Just as he made contact, electricity sparked from her fingertips, hitting the god square in the chest. Her head began to pound viciously, and blood trickled from her ear. All signs she was pushing her powers too far, but she didn’t care.

"Soren… Stark is… Come in…" Natasha's voice tried to push through the static in Soren's mind. She knew she needed to stop. That Loki wasn't worth losing everything and everyone she cared about. But it was too late, she was losing control.

“You see?” Loki mocked as he writhed against her power, “Even now, you fear what you are. Do it, you pathetic creature. Kill me, end my rain of terror.”

Something in his voice made her stop, the strain of it caused her to focus on more than her rage. Loki, the god of mischief, the reason for her pain, was practically begging her to kill him. He was accepting his fate. In fact, he was welcoming it. It was enough to tear her from her haze. She slowly lowered her hands, letting the god drop to the ground.

“What are you doing?” He demanded as he crawled towards her, “I have done nothing but cause you suffering. You should have my head on a pike. Kill me and be done with it.”

“No.” It was all she could muster, as she bent at the knees before the fallen god. His cold eyes found hers, wordlessly conveying the urgency of his request. He grabbed her shoulder, pulling her to one knee.

"Please…" It was barely a whisper, but it broke her heart. 

She gently pulled him into her chest, cradling him like a child. He raged against her at first, trying with what strength he had left to enrage her again. But it was not long before he fell still, and Soren felt hot tears falling onto her neck. She rubbed circles on his back as his breathing became erratic. He cursed her, he cursed Asgard and his Father. He wished to have never been born. By the time he was done, he was muttering the same thing over and over again.

“Monster, I’m a monster.” Soren couldn’t help the tears that slid down her cheeks at his words.

“I can’t change what happened to you, Loki. And I won’t pretend to know how you feel. But I have figured out one thing, you never meant for it to go this far. And if my short life has taught me anything, it's that everyone deserves redemption. But you have to want it. More than power, more than revenge. You have to want to be better, not only for yourself but for those who love you.” As if on cue, Thor’s voice broke over the comms, causing Loki to flinch.

"Soren, how is Loki? Is he… was it as we feared?" Loki scowled up at her, seemingly daring her to say anything more than was necessary.

“He’s alive, Thor, a little banged up but alive.” Soren chuckled as she adjusted her earpiece, hailing her teammates and getting status reports on everyone. When she heard Tony went through the portal and survived, she actually laughed.

“I figured the Old Man was too stubborn to die.” She threw out, receiving several reprimands from her team. All the while, she could hear Stark chuckling in the background.

“Thanks a lot, Freckles. Wait till I tell Santa how cruel you’ve been to me.” Tony threatened.

“Damn, there goes my shot at gettin that Barbie Dreamhouse.”

“As if you play with dolls, Agent Asskicker.” He laughed weakly before adding, “You still got eyes on Prancer?”

“Yeah, he’s … I’ve got him.” She replied quietly, as Loki extracted himself from her embrace.

He didn’t move far, bristling slightly as Thor arrived on the scene. The god of Thunder glanced between the two of them on the ground, before cautiously approaching his brother. Loki flinched again as Thor laid a gentle hand on the smaller god’s shoulder.

“Loki, are you… I am glad to see you well," Thor said as Loki stared at him in shock.

“Do you… will I ever be able to mend this?” Loki asked cautiously, motioning between himself and Thor. His brother smiled and embraced him, his hearty laugh echoing throughout the building.

"Ah, Brother! I knew you were still in there." Soren could hear Loki whimpering as his brother's muscles constricted around him.

“Yes, of course, I’m here, you big oaf. Now stop crushing me and get us out of here.” Thor immediately let go of him and took a step back, chuckling sheepishly.

“I think you two are forgettin somethin,” Soren said, gesturing outside where the other Avengers were gathering.

“Surely they will see that it was not Loki but the scepter that caused this,” Thor assured, stepping between his brother and his newfound friends.

“We’ll see. It’s going to take some fast talkin to get them to hear us out."

"Us?" The brothers asked in unison.

“Yeah,” She replied, glancing at Loki, who was looking at her with a mixture of awe and confusion, “Us Aliens have to stick up for each other.”

Thor looked between her and Loki, who just sighed and smiled at her. Between Soren, Thor, and a bit of help from Clint, the rest of the Avengers conceded that Loki was more the victim than the villain. In the end, only Stark seemed to disagree with sending Loki and the Tesseract back to Asgard. The others agreeing that it would be safer than in the hands of the government, and Loki being literally worlds away was a bonus.

But the general public, not to mention most of the world’s governments, needed a villain. They needed someone to blame and Loki, well he did play the role well. So when cuffs and a muzzle were presented to him, he merely barked out a laugh before giving himself over to Steve and being led from the Tower.

* * *

Over the next few days, everyone had begun to sort out their next move.

Tony offered them all a room in the new and improved Avengers Tower. They all made excuses as to why they couldn't, but Tony was, if anything, very persuasive. By the end of the conversation, Clint was describing the exact shade of purple that should be chosen for his bedspread before Natasha shut him up. Everyone hooted and cheered as she dipped him right there and planted one on him.

Steve was headed to Brooklyn for some much-needed rest. Of course, Tony joked that another seventy-year nap would be a bit excessive. Soren made Steve promise to reach out to her when he felt alone. Even going as far as getting him a cellphone and not allowing him to leave until he knew how to use it.

Clint and Natasha called in their vacation time and booked a solid month in Fiji. Soren knew they’d end up taking down a smuggling ring or some other nonsense, but they seemed genuinely excited to just relax for a while. Besides, they had a few years of pent up sexual tension to work out.

Bruce was skeptical about his new living arrangements at first. But when Tony started describing all the tech he was planning for the new Tower, Bruce began animatedly throwing out his own ideas. He was still rattling off overly complicated additions as Tony loaded him into his convertible.

As for Thor, he would return to Earth once the Bifrost was repaired. He promised to keep a close eye on his brother, who scoffed at the idea of needing a babysitter. But Soren could see through him now, and the small smile on his lips was proof enough for her. Loki would behave himself if only to mend his relationship with his brother.

Thor had also promised Soren help in tracing her Alien origins. Discreetly, of course, taking a small sample of her blood back to Asgard with him. She didn't tell the others what Loki had revealed to her, and she wasn't quite sure she wanted to know herself. But she did know one thing, as she watched the Avengers go their separate ways. This was only the beginning of her story. And she was excited to see what came next.


	6. Interim

The months following the Chitauri invasion flew by in a blur. So much so, that Soren had begun using her location as a calendar. She would spend one month living in the new Avengers Tower, getting to know her new teammates, and generally annoying Tony. The next month, she was bouncing around the globe on operations for S.H.I.E.L.D. If she was honest with herself, her new double life was starting to feel overwhelming. So, when Tony suggested a night out on the town, she relished the chance to relax.

But being a part of the Avengers meant there was no such thing as a simple night out. Which is why she soon found herself in a cramped alleyway, squinting in the low light as she inspected Clint’s injuries. He winced slightly, muttering curses as she used her abilities to carefully remove the mangled slug from his shoulder.

“Bastards didn’t even let me finish my dessert,” He complained as he stood and rolled his shoulder experimentally, “Do we know how many we are dealing with?”

“Sorry I didn’t get a headcount,” She huffed as she stood as well, brushing off her now torn jeans, “I was a bit distracted savin your ass."

"Thanks for using me as an excuse," Clint replied with a smirk before walking to the end of the alley, "And for keeping my head intact."

“Anyway, I heard at least two different caliber pistols and some assault rifles,” She continued in a hushed tone after he motioned her forward, “One of them definitely had a Chitauri upgrade though, blew a hole clear through the women’s bathroom.”

“Of course, they have Alien tech,” He sighed as he pressed against the brick wall and peeked around the corner, “I thought Fury ordered all that junk to be rounded up and sent to the Slingshot.”

“Looks like the cleaning crew missed a few.” She said as she slipped in her earpiece and dialed into their secured channel. She was relieved to hear Tony’s voice crackle over the comms.

“Hello? Did anyone bring their earwigs, or am I just yelling into the void?” Tony asked before a hail of bullets caused Clint to duck back into the alley.

“I’m here, Hawkeye got clipped, but he’s okay,” Soren replied as she took his position and returned fire, “What the hell’s goin on out there?"

“Just some overzealous fans coming to say hello. Anyone got eyes on the Eagle Scout?”

“Hilarious Stark,” Steve said as he joined the conversation, “Widow and I are pinned down in the west parking lot.”

“What about Bruce?” Soren asked.

“The good Doctor ducked out while you were powdering your nose. Said he had more work to do in the lab tonight,” Tony answered right before a car at the end of the street exploded, courtesy of a repulsor blast, “Seems like we should’ve followed his lead.”

Soren and Clint used the distraction to make their way towards the team. She walked a few paces ahead of him, using her earth shaping abilities to create some natural armor. She had tried the same trick with metal once, her ears rang for days afterward. It made her wonder how the bullet’s ricocheting off Steve’s shield didn’t bother him.

“We have three left here,” Natasha called out before popping off a shot, “Make that two. The others headed for the highway.”

“Others? Did they send an army after us?” Soren asked in a sarcastic tone.

“There were at least two dozen earlier, but most of them split when Tony’s suit deployed,” Steve replied, ducking around to get a better view, “They waited for Soren and Doctor Banner to leave before attacking. They’ve been watching us.”

“Which one has the heavy hardware?” Clint asked, his eyes glued to Natasha and the blood dripping from her arm.

“That would be Stark’s target, he’s trying to lead them away from the civilians,” Steve answered. Soren noticed he had a car door in place of his usual star-spangled shield.

“So, what’s the play, Cap?” She asked with a grin. He looked between her and his makeshift shield before chuckling to himself.

“Well, it looks like your already suited up,” He answered, gesturing to the three inches of rock covering her skin, “I suppose you could handle these yourself.”

“Aye Aye, Captain.” She answered with a salute, grinning widely as he groaned at the gesture.

Soren slowly made her way around the overturned vehicle, drawing fire from the dumbfounded men cowering behind a city bus. One of them recovered faster than the other, emptying his magazine into her chest. His face paled as he watched the bullets sink into the rock harmlessly.

“What… What are you?” He stammered as he backed into his equally shocked friend.

“Merciful,” She answered, leveling her gaze on the loaded gun in the other man’s grasp, “If you lower your weapons and come peacefully, that is.”

The men just nodded before dropping their weapons. She motioned for the others to move forward, Natasha and Steve making quick work of disarming and cuffing the men. A few minutes later, a S.H.I.E.L.D. van appeared to cart off their prisoners. Natasha explained the situation to Agent Hill, who seemed both relieved and pissed off at the outcome. Soren noticed Clint glaring at the sky with a furrowed brow, and realized their team was missing a key member.

“Stark, what’s your status?” She called out over the comms.

When she was met with silence, she dropped her rock armor and floated into the air to get a better look. She didn’t see Tony anywhere, but a blue flash a few blocks away caught her attention. She didn’t waste any time, merely calling out the location to the others as she sped forward.

When she made it to a partially collapsed parking garage, she slowed down and scanned the area. It was eerily quiet as she hovered closer to the entrance. A noise from deeper inside caught her attention just as a burst of blue light erupted behind her. The force of the blast sent her flying forward, flipping end over end. She smashed into an already unstable column, which snapped in half with a sickening crack.

She barely had time to register what had happened before the floor above her caved in. On instinct, she threw up her hands and willed the chunks of concrete to stop. When the dust settled, there was a perfect circle around her that was devoid of any debris. She tried to sigh in relief, only to realize the wind had been knocked out of her.

“Hey, Freckles, is that you?” A familiar voice called to her from a nearby pile of rubble.

She squinted into the darkness, trying to make out the shape as her vision righted itself. Tony was on his back under about a ton of concrete. His faceplate was missing, and there was blood oozing from his mouth. But he was breathing, which meant he was doing better than her for the moment.

“Yeah… Just peachy,” She wheezed as she made her way shakily to his side, “Where’d they go?”

“She ran off after shooting you in the back,” Tony said with a grunt as he struggled under the weight of the debris, “Like a coward.”

Tony was uncharacteristically quiet as he watched Soren work. She took a calming breath and waved her hand over him slowly. Piece by piece, the stone began to shift before he was suddenly free. He started coughing up blood as soon as the pressure was taken off his chest. Soren moved to help him stand, but he just shrugged her off.

When he held up a hand, she watched as he stumbled to a corner and proceeded to empty his stomach. When he turned back to her, he looked almost apologetic as he sat down on a particularly large chunk of rock and slammed his fist against the arc reactor in his chest. It blinked a few times as JARVIS came back online, the A.I. immediately began a diagnostic check on both Tony and the Iron man suit.

“Sir, you appear to have two broken ribs and a fractured wrist,” JARVIS observed as Tony was bathed in orange light, “I would suggest an ambulance, but I know you will refuse it.”

“Damn right, I would,” Tony hissed through gritted teeth, “and before you ask, the answer is no.”

“But Sir, Ms. Potts said…” JARVIS began before Tony started waving a hand.

“Damn it, JARVIS I said no,” He sighed as he slumped further into his suit, “If I promise to go straight to the hospital after saving the world, will you lay off?”

“Very well, Sir,” JARVIS relented as the scanning continued, “Your suit seems to be functioning at fifty-eight percent. However, the propulsion system seems to have suffered the brunt of the blast.”

“Well, that’s something.” Tony breathed, as a small hologram of his suit appeared in his hand.

He spun it a few times, pulling off pieces and examining them before tossing them behind him. The whole time he was making notes about what went wrong and possible solutions to the weak points he found. After a few minutes of this, he nodded to himself before waving his hand again, and the hologram disappeared.

After that, Tony went quiet again, his good arm under his chin as he stared at nothing. Soren had never seen him like this, she wondered if anyone other than maybe Pepper did. She had to admit that after New York, he had been different. But if anything, he had been more talkative and sarcastic. This was a Tony Stark she didn’t recognize, and it unnerved her.

“How the hell did she get the drop on you, anyhow?” Soren finally asked to break the silence. The mask slipped back almost immediately; his signature smirk fully intact before he turned towards her.

“Well, I was trying to lead her away from the club. That cannon of hers packs a serious punch and seems to have a Chitauri tracking system built-in,” Tony said animatedly as he gingerly pulled off what was left of his helmet, “I ducked in here to confuse her. I didn’t think she would bring the whole damn thing down on my head.”

She wondered if she should push the issue, but the distant sound of footsteps caused them both to drop into defensive stances. Soren, being the less injured of the two, crept forward to get a better look. She sighed when she recognized Steve and Natasha bounding towards them.

“There you two are,” Steve breathed as he took in their haggard appearance, “What the hell happened to you, Stark?”

“Dorothy dropped a house on us,” Tony quipped, earning an eye-roll from Steve.

“The two assailants we had are in custody, where is your target Stark?” Natasha asked with a sly grin of her own.

Ever since the whole, undercover secretary incident, the two had a silent rivalry. Of course, Natasha always won. Soren suspected that the spy enjoyed toying with Tony, dangling victory in his face before snatching it away. But she could see that Natasha was picking up on the Billionaire’s odd mood.

“I believe Tony had more… pressin matters to attend to.” Soren answered, trying to keep the mood light.

“Oh, sure. That’s rich,” Tony whined in mock offense, “Let’s all make fun of the man with the Platinum card, who lets you live in his apartment. Rent-free, I might add.”

“Seriously, Tony, we should get you back to the Tower,” Soren said softly, eyeing the trickle of blood from Tony’s mouth.

“I’m fine,” He mumbled as he shakily stood up, wobbling a bit before sitting back down hard, “Besides, I put a tracer on her. A little trick I picked up somewhere.”

“You are not fine, Tony! Your wrist is clearly broken, and JARVIS said you’re fucked up internally, too,” She said as she helped him up again, not letting him push her away this time.

“Shit! You were eavesdropping on my private examination? How uncouth of you, Freckles.” He mocked dryly before he allowed her to hold most of his weight.

“I thought we had gotten past the nicknames, Old Man.”

“What would you prefer I call you? Solstice?” He asked with a snort, causing her to sigh in frustration.

Soren’s official S.H.I.E.L.D codename had been Coulson’s idea, something to evoke power and boost her confidence. After he was gone, using the name felt like a tribute to her fallen mentor. At least it did until Tony heard it. 

She had endured endless questions after New York, not only from her friends but the media as well. But nothing compared to having Tony Stark in her ear, complaining about the damned weather. As if the ninety-degree heat in September was somehow her fault. At least he gave Thor the same shit when it rained.

“Let’s just get you to the Tower and find Hawkeye so we can plan our next move,” Soren sighed, desperately trying to change the subject. 

“We thought he was with you,” Steve said, sparing a worried look at Natasha before an explosion a few blocks away rocked the already crumbling building.

Steve wasted no time arguing as he grabbed Tony under the arms and carried him fireman style out into the street. Natasha, who had been on the phone, followed close behind him, gripping Tony’s helmet. Soren held the building up long enough for the others to make it to safety before letting it fall into a somewhat stable heap. The dust hadn’t settled before Tony had determined the location of the blast.

Soren flew ahead, silently cursing their most scattered brained teammate for forgetting his earwig at the Tower. She spotted a hooded figure a few blocks away from the crater, crouching on a fire escape as he watched a nearby building. It was their resident archer, silently observing a small group of heavily armed mercs. She had almost made it to him when another blue explosion sent her careening to the ground. The last thing she saw was Clint’s broken bow hit the ground before her vision faded to black.

* * *

  
  


Rain pelted the cracked windows of the condemned apartment building as Soren watched the world below with disinterest. It had been almost three years since her powers first manifested. Six months since escaping the doctors that tried to control her. One week, since her only friend had paid the ultimate price for her freedom. Now, she waited in silence as she watched an armored truck hop the curb below.

She honestly expected more, more bodies, bigger guns. But what did they really know about her? Did they know what she was truly capable of? Did she? But when men in masks show up, they don’t ask many questions. She didn’t bother looking up as they burst into the room. She simply let the rage consume her, and the fire that lived inside her did the rest.

An hour passed before she was disturbed again, but this time it wasn’t a whole squadron of men. The door behind her was gently pushed open by a redhaired woman in her early twenties. She was wearing an all-black catsuit and had a pistol holstered at her side. She took in the damage to the room, the small flames that still flickered here and there. The woman looked almost annoyed as she turned and acknowledged Soren with a firm nod.

"You made quick work of them, won't be able to I.D. them though. Next time at least leave the face intact," The woman said as she edged further into the space.

“Next time?” Soren asked hoarsely as she finally moved from her untouched corner of the apartment.

“An individual with your… talent attracts attention.” The woman stated calmly.

“Now Natasha, I thought we were here to help the girl. Not scare her to death.” A male voice said from somewhere nearby. Soren moved to the center of the room and looked around, bewildered.

“Barten, I thought we agreed to do this my way,” Natasha said as she slowly unclipped her sidearm.

“Your way was taking too long, and quite frankly, you were freaking me out.” The man, Barten, replied casually.

“Is this the part where I ask what you want with me? I’m new to… whatever the hell this is,” Soren said as she gestured vaguely around the room.

“That makes two of us, Kid,” Barten replied with a chuckle.

“Barten!” Natasha warned.

“Right, sorry. We came to help you evade your friends that were here earlier. By the looks of them, or what’s left anyway, they seemed well-armed and determined.”

“I can handle myself,” Soren said, causing the remaining flames to ignite around the room. Natasha drew her gun in a flash, aiming it directly between Soren’s eyes.

“Now, now. Let’s all just calm down. We are not the bad guys here,” Barten said as Soren let the flames flicker out again.

“Can’t help but notice you didn’t claim to be the good guys,” Soren replied.

“And I can’t help but notice how little control you truly have over this,” Natasha replied, nodding to the larger flames that refused to obey Soren’s command.

“And let me guess, you are offering to help me with that?”

“Yes, actually.”

“And what would you suggest? Glare at it until it submits?”

A hearty laugh erupted from a dark corner of the room, and a figure emerged from the shadows. It was a ruggedly attractive, blond man, whom she could only assume was Barten. He had a compound bow half drawn at his side and a grin on his face.

“I’m sorry, but that was just too great,” He said as he twirled an arrow and slid it back into his quiver, “She isn’t scared of anything, is she?”

“Barten, focus,” Natasha barked, not relaxing her stance.

“Right, so what do you say, kid? Help us help you?” He asked.

“The name is Soren, not kid. And you haven’t sold me yet, Robin Hood,” Soren snapped, drawing another laugh from the man.

“We aren’t the salesmen, just the ones keeping you alive long enough to get to him. But personally, you’re okay with me, Soren,” He said as he moved closer to her, clapping a hand onto her shoulder, “Natasha?”

“You seem sane enough,” Natasha began as she slowly lowered her gun, “Do you know who is after you? The quicker we eliminate them, the better.”

“Yeah, we haven’t been able to capture any of them alive. Who do they work for?” Barten asked as he looked out a broken window.

She thought about it for a moment. Had they said who they were? No, they had only asked her questions. Made her do things, hurt her.

"I…I don't know," Soren said, suddenly feeling very dizzy, "They did things to me, others too. My friend, he saved me, but they found us. He told me to run, but I … couldn’t leave him."

Memories of the past few years came flooding back, melding together into a horrible nightmare. The doctors and their unsympathetic eyes. The hours of grueling tests and training. The terrified faces of the ones she had been forced to hurt. The look in his eyes when he told her everything would be okay. She couldn’t remember his name. Why couldn’t she think?

“They killed him and strapped me to a chair… they said I would be compliant. That they would make me comply,” She felt her knees hit the floor as the room spun around her, “I begged them to stop. Why wouldn’t they stop? It was my fault… he died for nothing… I’m sorry.”

Suddenly, the ground started to shake beneath her. Natasha and Barten began arguing loudly, but she couldn’t concentrate on them. As the building began to crumble around her, Soren squeezed her eyes shut and tried to find him. Eventually, everything else faded around her, and she was there again. Now, all she could see was a pair of blue eyes piercing into her heart.

“James.”

* * *

An irritating beeping noise roused her from her dreams. When she tried to roll over to swat at the sound, she found it difficult to move. Cracking open an eye, she was surprised to find herself not in the burning room but in a hospital bed. She closed her eyes again and practiced her breathing, willing her mind to go back. But it was no use, whatever memories she had of this James person had slipped away again. Her three-year memory gap would remain a mystery that even S.H.I.E.L.D. couldn’t solve.

“Good, you’re awake,” Steve’s voice cut through the confusion from a nearby chair, “I thought we’d have to resort to drastic measures, like turning on Jersey Shore.”

“Not that I don’t enjoy your newfound sense of humor, Steve,” She said as she tried to coax her stiff body to sit up, “But, you mind tellin me what the hell happened last night?”

“Woah, take it easy,” He said as he jumped up to stop her, “The Doc said you need rest.”

“I’ve rested long enough, I’m fine!” She said as she swung her legs over the side of the small hospital bed.

“You are not fine, you have a concussion. Which is, frankly, laughable considering how hardheaded you are.”

“I’ve had worse,” She mumbled, slowly taking in his sunken expression, “What happened to Clint?”

“He was closer to the center of the blast than you,” Steve began as he paced the room, “Doc says he’ll have some hearing loss, and it will take him a while to recover. But he made it through the worst of it, now it’s up to his body to heal itself. Nat is with him, she hasn’t left his side since we pulled him from the blast zone.”

"How bad was it, Steve?" He stopped pacing and looked out the window. When he didn't answer, she sighed and gingerly placed her feet on the cold floor.

“What did I just say, Soren?” Steve yelled as he picked her up bridal style and plopped her back onto the bed.

“Steve, I love you like a brother. But if you don’t stop manhandling me, I’ll put you through that damned wall!”

“Children!” Tony shouted from the doorway, effectively interrupting the brewing argument. “We are in a hospital, show some decorum!”

“Tony, you're louder than they are,” Bruce said sheepishly as he wheeled the billionaire into the room.

Soren took one look at the pair and burst out laughing. She couldn’t tell if it was the absurdity of their situation or how utterly ridiculous the duo looked. Tony was wearing his trademark Iron Man pajamas and purple sunglasses; he also had one arm in a sling and was holding a lime green, Hulk slushie. Bruce, on the other hand, looked like he was about to give a rousing lecture on mitosis, sporting a sweater vest and pleated khakis.

“Well, I’m glad someone is feeling better,” Tony began as he motioned with his cup, “You’ve been out for two days, Ms. Smith. Now, correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t you take a full blast from Loki’s staff back in New York?”

“Yeah… Why?” She replied as she wiped tears from her eyes, “And I’ve been out for how long?”

“I was getting there,” Steve began as she threw him a death glare, “There were more pressing issues.”

“Such as?” She asked through gritted teeth.

“Well, we analyzed the crater that used to be an apartment building,” Bruce answered, successfully drawing their attention back to the real issue, “It’s the same Gamma signature as the scepter.”

“So whatever caused the explosion was Chitauri tech?” Steve asked.

“Not necessarily,” Tony replied as he finished off his slushie loudly, “According to our scans, the radiation from the Chitauri weapons and the scepter are more cousins than siblings.”

"So…," Steve asked as he gestured vaguely. 

“So, we don’t know for sure why she went comatose on us,” Tony answered.

“How do we find out?” Soren asked.

“We would need the lab equipment at the Tower,” Bruce chimed in.

“And that’s why we need you up and moving Freckles,” Tony said as he slapped the arm of his chair, “Feel up to escaping this sterile prison?”

“Tony…,” Steve warned as he moved to stand guard over his charge, “Soren isn’t going anywhere until a doctor releases her. Same goes for you.”

“Wanna bet, Capcicle?” Tony replied with a smirk, watching as Soren began floating behind Steve.


	7. Consequences

After some not so subtle convincing and an actual examination by a doctor, Steve was unanimously outvoted. Soren would be released once the proper paperwork was signed, which gave her just enough time to see how Clint was doing. She was unsurprised to find Natasha asleep at his bedside, holding his much larger hand in her own. The scene was so intimate, it almost distracted her from the reality of the situation.

Clint was hooked up to a breathing machine, the rise and fall of his bandaged chest a miracle of science. One of his legs was up in a sling, and he had deep burns on his face and arms. He was lucky to be alive. She could feel the tears brimming in her eyes as she watched her two friends sleep.

Soren hated this feeling, the helplessness that seemed to haunt her every step of her life. She had all these powers, and she still wasn’t enough. What good were they if she couldn’t protect the people she loved? She only realized she was sobbing when a pair of slim arms wrapped themselves around her and eased her onto the couch.

“I’m so sorry,” She hickuped between sobs, “I should’ve been there sooner, I should’ve...”

“Soren, he’s going to be okay. Clint is the most stubborn person I’ve ever met,” Natasha said softly, “It will take some work, and he’ll milk it for all its worth, but he’ll make it through.”

“I’m sorry, I have no right to…”

“To what? To be worried about your friends?”

“But… Nat.”

“Ren, you are like a sister to me, and I know Clint feels the same,” Natasha said as she turned to look at her partner, “This is not your fault, it’s a hazard of the job. But we will get the people responsible, Fury has a team working on it right now.”

“You talked to him?” Soren asked a bit surprised, “He’s been dodgin me for weeks.”

“He came by actually, checked on you both personally,” Natasha said, sounding annoyed, “He had the nerve to tell me I needed to take some time off. It’s not like one of us has never been injured before.”

“That may be true, but it’s usually you in that bed, Nat,” Soren sniffed, “How do you think he has felt seeing you hurt all these years? When the people you love are hurt, you hurt too. It sucks, but it’s true for everyone, including badass assassins. It’s okay to feel overwhelmed right now, we’ve all got your back.”

With that, Soren sat up and wrapped her arms around Natasha. The assassin faltered at first but slowly eased into the embrace. They held each other for a while, and if Natasha shed a few tears of her own, Soren would never tell a soul.

* * *

“Are you sure this is safe, Stark?” Steve asked warily as he watched Bruce attach little circles to Soren’s chest and head.

“Look, I know all this new-age tech can be a bit much for you, Cap,” Tony chided as he typed calculations one-handed into the terminal, “But trust me, I know what I’m doing… hopefully.”

“You know I can hear you, right?” Soren asked sarcastically from the other side of the glass.

“Hey, it was either this or blasting you with the Scepter again,” Tony began as Bruce joined them in the observation area, “You didn’t seem keen on that idea, Freckles.”

“Shocker, isn’t it? Not wanting to get blasted through a building again.”

“Even so, we still aren’t sure why your brain just shut off on you,” Bruce added softly, taking over the typing for Tony, “Even Fury seemed concerned. He said to make it a top priority.”

“He talked to you too?” She asked, feeling herself get more agitated, “The man can’t answer the phone but has time to make house calls?”

“It was odd to me too, at first,” Tony said, wheeling himself closer to the glass, “Almost as if he was protecting something.”

“Or someone,” Steve chimed in, “I mean, I get wanting to check on your people. But he spent more time in your room than Barten’s, and he was critical. You were just asleep.”

“Sir,” JARVIS interrupted politely, “The scans of Ms. Soren’s brain have been analyzed.”

“Jarvis… you scanned me?” Soren asked, throwing her hand against her chest dramatically, “At least buy a girl a drink first.”

“It’s not like it was your first time, Freckles.” Tony threw back as he waved his hand, and a hologram of Soren’s brain appeared in front of him.

“Maybe not, but it still makes me feel icky,” She continued, contemplating her next move carefully, “Hey Steve, can you run downstairs and grab my phone? Just in case Nat calls?”

“Uh, sure.” He agreed, hesitant to leave her alone with the all too eager scientists.

“And some lunch would be awesome too,” She added, trying to buy some time, “That hospital food sucked.”

“You got it.” He called over his shoulder as he got into the elevator. The room was silent for a few minutes before Bruce sighed beside her.

“He’s not an idiot, you know.”

“I know, but I hate worrying him over what could be nothing. Besides, he’s not the best at secrets.”

“No, but you’re apparently an expert,” Tony said as he spun the hologram around, revealing the implant in her head, “Care to explain, Ms. Smith?”

“When S.H.I.E.L.D. found me… I couldn’t control my powers,” She began, not looking either man in the eye, “This was their solution, their guarantee that I wouldn’t be a problem later.”

“Guarantee? How? What is it exactly?” Bruce asked as he took a closer look.

“It… keeps my powers at manageable levels. Or it did, before New York. After, Fury said it would act more like a monitor. Only activatin if it sensed a power surge. I’m guessin the scepter triggered it. It happened the first time I got zapped too. But between it havin to adjust to my full powers and the adrenaline pumpin in my system, it only knocked me out for a few minutes.”

“And you didn’t mention all this before now because?” Tony asked.

“I was ordered not to. I gave Fury a full report, even told him how it jostled some old memories back to the surface. He was going to have me checked out by the doctor that performed the surgery, but he … was unavailable.”

“Memories?” Bruce asked quietly, “It caused memory loss?”

“No, that was… before S.H.I.E.L.D.” Soren answered as she shifted in the chair, “There was an accident, I would rather not get into that. But I lost about three years, and the scepter brought somethin back.”

“And it’s only happened those two times?”

“Well, yes. But when we were on the Helicarrier, before they broke Loki out, the scepter was hummin at me.”

“Humming?” Tony asked.

“Yeah, it gave me a headache and made my stomach turn.”

“I heard it too,” Bruce said in a whisper, “It didn’t hurt my head though, just a soft hum. Almost like music.”

“Do we have to start a sharing circle now?” Tony asked in an exasperated tone, “If you’re holding the stick, please give us any and all relevant information about possible Alien artifacts. Thank you for your candor.”

“Can’t you be serious, Tony?” Soren asked.

“Serious? I’m dead serious!” He yelled, “You could’ve both been mind-controlled, and we would’ve never known!”

“Don’t be so dramatic, Tony,” Bruce said as he further examined the implant, “So how far does this thing go? I mean, is it tapping into your nervous system?”

“I’m not sure,” Soren answered calmly, “I do know my powers become unstable when my emotions are high. So, it supposedly affects that part of my brain. Keeping me calm, I guess.”

“How old were you?” Tony asked abruptly.

“Seventeen.”

“Come on! Really?” They let a kid make that kind of decision without an adult?”

“I didn’t have another option, Tony.”

“You agreed to this?” Bruce asked breathlessly as he examined the zoomed-in picture in front of him. “Why?”

“It was either that or hope I figured it out on my own.”

“So, this little piece of tech could’ve short-circuited your brain… and you’re okay with that?” Tony asked in an exasperated tone.

“Of course not!” She answered quickly, her hand instinctively falling to the scar on the back of her neck, “I … don’t think I really need it anymore. But I’ll admit, it helps me sleep easier. Knowing I can be stopped if necessary.”

There was an awkward silence that followed, leaving Soren feeling almost naked. She didn’t know how they would take the news, but she hadn’t expected them to judge her too harshly. She almost regretted telling them at all until Bruce laid a gentle hand on her shoulder.

“I think I understand,” He said quietly, meeting her eyes finally, “If I had that option, I would probably take it too.”

“Well, I think you are both insane.” Tony huffed from his wheelchair.

“That’s rich, coming from the man with a damned nuclear reactor in his chest!” Soren spat back, crossing her arms to feel less exposed.

“Yeah, well, my machine parts are keeping me alive, not making me a puppet!”

“You can take your suit off, Tony!” Soren yelled, ripping the electrodes from her skin, “I can’t just put my powers in a damned suitcase and take them out when I need them! What if I lost control and hurt someone? What if I hurt you or Steve? What if I hurt Pepper? I couldn’t …”

“So what? You just put a hunk of metal in your head and hope that a good shock will snap you out of it?”

“Yes, no… I don’t know, Tony. I’m honestly not sure how it works, and I’ve never asked,” Soren continued as she made her way to the balcony, “I… did things. Things I don’t remember doing. I hurt people, some of them died. So, forgive me for wanting a way to keep that from ever happening again.”

With that, Soren flew out into the rain, leaving a stunned Tony to stare after her.

* * *

Soren ended up on the roof of a rundown brownstone. She was pleasantly surprised to find it covered in different plants and herbs. It felt like the perfect spot to sulk in peace. It was not.

“Well, this is a pleasant surprise, Soren.” A voice said from behind her. She jumped up and dropped into a defensive stance, whirling around, looking for the source of the voice.

“Now now, there is no need for that,” The voice cooed as a figure immerged seemingly from nowhere, “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

The voice belonged to an older woman in what appeared to be yellow monk robes. Her hood was up, but Soren could see the woman was bald with sharp features. She was also much older than she appeared.

“You have me at a disadvantage,” Soren began as she relaxed slightly, “You know my name, but I don’t know yours.”

“Who I am really isn’t important, but you are,” She said as she calmly eyed Soren, “You are quite a rarity, a true anomaly.”

“Well, now you have my attention, but I still want to know who you are.”

“If you need a name, you can call me Astra,” The woman answered, absently trailing a hand over a hanging fern, “Did you come for answers? Or to escape?”

“I don’t know,” Soren answered honestly, “I just started flying and ended up here. What do you know about me?”

“I have knowledge of many things,” Astra continued, moving in a circle around Soren, “I could tell you your past, your possible futures. I could rehash every conversation you and I will ever have, in this universe or others. But I don’t believe that’s why you are here this time.”

“You said I was an _Anomaly_ , what does that mean?”

“I wonder what makes you so inquisitive. No matter who you are or what has happened, you are always so curious.”

“Well, now I’m definitely confused.”

“I’m sure you are. I must seem an insane old woman to you.”

“No, you seem just as sane as I am.”

“Now that my dear, is a dangerous line of thinking,” Astra mused as she continued to circle her, “Return to me when your heart finds you, we will talk more then.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Soren asked irritably, turning to face her.

But she was gone, and so was the rooftop. Soren suddenly found herself in her apartment at Avengers tower. She looked around, wondering if she’d dreamt the whole thing.

“Ms. Soren, it is good to see you have returned,” JARVIS said suddenly, startling her out of her thoughts.

“Jarvis, what have I told you about sneaking up on people?”

“I did point out that I am everywhere. I am always at hand, should you require me.”

“Totally not creepy at all.”

“I just wanted to inform you that Mr. Stark and the others have been searching for you. They are currently in the main sitting room.”

“Thank you, Jarvis. Sorry for snapping at you.” Soren said more calmly, before squaring her shoulders and heading for the main floor.

“And I want to know what you said, Stark! She’s been gone for hours!” Steve’s voice could be heard before the elevator doors opened.

“I… look, I’ll fix it okay. We just need to find her.” Tony sounded exhausted and surprisingly worried as Soren rounded the corner.

“Uh, hi,” She said weakly as she made her presence known. Steve looked instantly relieved, Tony, however, looked pissed.

“Hi? That’s all you have to say. You had us worried sick!”

“I know, I’m sorry,” Soren began as she sank into the couch, “In my defense, I’ve had a shitty few days.”

Bruce was sitting in a chair, quietly reading as if they weren’t there.

“Tony, don’t you have something to say?” He asked as he flipped to the next page.

“I… yes. Soren, I apologize,” He said slowly, “I had no right to judge your decision. And after talking it out with Bruce, I think I understand now.”

“I accept your apology, Tony, on one condition,” He looked at her then, as if waiting for the hammer to drop, “Help me with my suit? It hasn’t been right since New York. And I feel like I need a new look anyway.”

Tony’s eyes lit up like a Christmas tree as he slowly nodded his head. Bruce had their full attention now, his book forgotten on the arm of the chair. And Steve was still confused.

“Of course, I will, Freckles,” Tony answered with a big smile, “Oh, this will be interesting. Something in a teal, maybe? How apposed are you to flames?”

“We would need to factor in her abilities,” Bruce jumped in, “It can’t just be flame retardant, and it needs to be aerodynamic.”

“Excuse me, get your own awesome project.” Tony snapped playfully.

“You need me, and you know it.” Bruce chuckled as they both headed for the lab.

“Now wait just a damned minute here!” Steve yelled, causing both men to jump.

“Steve, please,” Soren said as she finally looked at him, “Just drop it okay? It’s over now.”

“You sure?” He asked quietly. She slowly walked over to him and looped her arm through his.

“Very sure, Steve. But thank you for worryin about me,” Soren assured as she led him to the kitchen, “Now, let’s get some dinner. I’m starving.”


	8. Old Friends

The next few days were eventful, to say the least. Clint finally woke up, much to everyone’s relief. He would have a long road to recovery still, and his hearing loss was proving to be worse than initially predicted. But ever the optimist, Clint ensured he could still kick ass with the best of them. Natasha agreed, even volunteering to personally oversee his physical therapy.

Steve had been keeping himself busy, running down every lead on the group that had attacked them at the restaurant. Soren had joined him for the first few, but after the S.T.R.I.K.E. team had been brought in, she stepped back from the investigation. Once those guys had someone in their sights, it was best to get out of their way.

She was also beginning to regret asking Tony to make her new suit. It wasn’t that she was ungrateful, but his constant measuring and testing was slowly driving her insane. Sure, her five-foot-two frame would be easy to fit, but her powers were another story. They had to factor for all her abilities, make it relatively bulletproof, and keep it flexible enough to fly in. After a week and a few near accidents later, Tony finally had a decent prototype ready.

On the day of testing, Tony, Bruce, and Steve stood behind protective glass as they watched Soren run the suit through its paces. The more dummies she incinerated, the wider their eyes grew. They had seen her in action sure, but they had never focused on the sheer power she wielded.

“Well, what do you think?” Tony asked excitedly as she sauntered back into the viewing area.

“It’s awesome! You guys really thought of everything. I feel fierce!” She said as she flexed dramatically, “And I’m definitely diggin this color scheme.”

“I believe Bruce used the term ‘Inspired’ when I showed him the designs.” Tony sniffed.

“I said nothing of the sort,” Bruce huffed, “But you do look nice, Soren. Does it fit, alright? No tearing or overheating?”

“It’s perfect guys, really. Thank you,” She said as she turned to Steve, “What do ya think, Cap?”

“I think it’s a lot of color.” He replied with a smirk, taking in the black and turquoise ensemble. Tony’s jaw made an audible pop as he gawked at Steve.

“Like you haven’t been walking around wrapped in a damned American flag for a hundred years?” Tony snapped.

“I’m just saying if she goes on a covert op,” Steve began as he gestured to her suit, “It may not be very stealthy. And in combat, it will make her a target.”

“Oh please, you are such a wet blanket. You’re just jealous that she looks awesome!”

Soren knew where this was headed. The two men seemed determined to argue over the silliest things these days. She was about to break it up before it started when her phone rang. She excused herself to the hallway before looking at the caller ID. It was Agent Maria Hill.

“This is Solstice.” She answered.

“Wow, a very official greeting, Soren. What should I be calling to scold you about?”

“I got no idea what you’re talkin about,” Soren replied innocently, “I haven’t caused a natural disaster in like six months.”

“Oh, really? Barton said that an earthquake in Peru last month seemed to oddly match up with a game of Monopoly you guys played. Strictly off the record, of course.”

“He knew I’d bought Park Place, bastard switched the cards when I left to get a drink. Bird boy is lucky he’s fragile right now, or I’d throttle him. ”

“I’m sure you would,” Maria chuckled before getting more serious, “We have a situation in Prague. Fury wants you on it, drop everything else.”

“Hold on, what about the guys that attacked us?”

“We have a team on that, seems like they’ve been spotted in D.C. As a matter of fact, Steve should be getting a call any minute now.”

“But Fury wants me on the other side of the world. Any particular reason?”

“Soren,” Maria said gently, “We lost contact with the Sparrow about sixteen hours ago.”

“No.” Soren’s heart dropped into her boots. “Is she… Is Anna okay?”

“As far as we know, she’s off the grid. But she’s in too deep to form a proper extraction without causing an international incident.”

“Great.”

“I’m sending you the coordinates for her last known location. When you retrieve the Sparrow, you are to report to the Triskelion.” Maria said, hesitating slightly before adding, “Soren, stop by my office after the debrief. There are some… things we need to discuss.”

“I always look forward to your scoldings.”

“If only they worked,” Maria chuckled before getting serious again, “Contact us when you land. And deep shadow protocol is in effect Soren, no showing off unless absolutely necessary. We don’t need one of America’s newest heroes getting arrested overseas.”

“Imagine the bureaucratic shitstorm that would cause.”

“I already have,” Maria sighed, “Stay sharp out there, Solstice.”

The line went dead, and the world was silent again. Soren took a deep breath and leaned against the wall. She hadn’t seen Anna in over a year. Not since their last assignment together in Belize.

Anna Karkarov was one of the fiercest women Soren had ever met. Next to Natasha, she had the most experience in undercover operations in S.H.I.E.L.D. history. So, when Coulson got the idea to send Soren out on her first undercover assignment, he had enlisted the best.

It had gone well at first, but someone had tipped the mark off right before extraction. Soren would’ve been tortured and killed if Anna hadn’t swooped in. After that mishap, Anna took a special interest in Soren’s training.

The two women soon became very close, bonding over their similar backgrounds. They had both grown up in the foster system and been branded delinquents. But Anna had taken it as a challenge, determining to make something of herself. Soren admired her and was always willing to push herself to keep up with the more seasoned spy. Now, it seemed she would be the one to the rescue for a change.

Just as she was heading back to the guys, they came bursting into the hallway. Steve was in soldier mode as he talked in a hushed tone on his phone. Bruce was wringing his hands nervously, and Tony was scrolling through his phone. 

“Did I miss something?” She asked hesitantly.

“Fury has a solid lead on the guys from the other night, “Steve said as he headed for the elevator, “Rumlow and the S.T.R.I.K.E. team are already en route.”

“I’ve been called to speak at a symposium, gamma stuff mostly, but I’m not sure that I’ll accept,” Bruce mumbled.

“Oh, you’re going, Brucey, and I’m escorting you personally. I need to get back to Malibu anyway. I have a few things to finish up before the Holidays.” Tony said as Pepper’s face appeared on his phone.

“Well, hello there, handsome,” She said before she took in his still bruised face, “Anthony Stark! What the hell happened to you?”

“Dude, you didn’t tell her?” Soren whispered as Pepper continued to berate him.

“Slipped my mind,” He said quietly as he shook his head at the device and muted the call, “You aren’t going with Rogers?”

“Actually, I’m headed to Europe,” She admitted as he smiled fondly at his phone, “S.H.I.E.L.D. needs me for a few weeks.”

“I thought we were all doing Christmas at my place,” Tony whined, “I even bought themed stockings!”

“Sorry, duty calls,” Soren shrugged, “Maybe next year?”

“Well, I guess it’s so long for now then,” He said as he headed for the garage, dragging a reluctant Bruce behind him, “Try to have some fun for me. Paris, Rome, anything. But don’t get the snails, no matter how good they tell you they are.”

“I’ll remember that,” She said with a smile, “Try not to cause too much trouble while I’m gone, Old Man.”

“You know me better than that, Freckles.” He said with a wink before returning to his call.

“Yeah, I do.” She answered as he slid into his convertible and sped off into the night.

* * *

Soren landed in Prague a little after sunrise, disembarking the plane as quickly as possible. She was to meet her contact at a café around six, leaving her plenty of time to scope out Anna’s apartment. Someone had definitely trashed the place. It was made to look like a robbery, but Soren’s trained eye saw a pattern in the chaos.

Powder burns on the door frame, a spent casing under the bed. Signs of a firefight, but no blood. She tried to visualize it in her mind. Anna sitting on the balcony, sipping wine as they entered through the ceiling. She probably got off a few shots before jumping to the room below.

Soren went into the small bathroom and threw open the shower curtain. Using a knife, she pried off the drain cover and carefully extracted a plastic bag with an SD card inside. Every agent had their hiding spot, luckily she knew Anna’s.

Soren popped the card into her phone and began going over the logs. Anna was a bit old school with her information gathering, preferring to type out long-form emails and hide the intel in the messages. She was tracking Kellen Yarik, an oil tycoon and known terrorist sympathizer. Apparently, he had a stockpile of weapons he was selling on the black market, including some from Stark Industries.

Anna had been working Yarik and his associates for over a year. She even managed to get an invite to his mansion in Paris before she began to suspect her cover was blown. Soren sent the decoded messages to Hill before melting the card and made one last sweep of the apartment before heading to the café.

The contact was a portly man with large eyebrows and bad breath. He had little information she could use, mostly hearsay and excuses. By the end of the meeting, Soren had a massive headache and no leads. She would have to do the leg work herself.

Three weeks and too many dead ends later, Soren was still at square one. She had exhausted all her S.H.I.E.L.D. contacts, even a few that were more personal. No one seemed to know anything about Yarik or were scared shitless to talk if they did. Even blatantly dropping his name hadn’t brought his goons out of their respective holes.

Soren had begun to lose hope. The longer Anna was missing, the more likely she had already been killed. These and many more unpleasant thoughts swirling through her head were interrupted when she noticed a man leering at her from across the square.

He wasn’t the first man to take an interest in Soren, he wasn’t even the first tail she had dealt with that week. But he was, in fact, the worst. He practically tripped over a fountain as he inched closer to her. A plan began to form in her head as she watched him fumble with his phone. She led him around the square for a while before ducking into an alley.

“You look lost, pretty thing.” The man called out in broken English.

“Oh my, I’m sorry,” Soren answered, playing the bumbling tourist, “It seems I got turned around.”

“We can help you find your way, can’t we, boys?” He chuckled as two more men appeared behind him, “Yarik would like to have a little chat.”

That was all she needed to hear. When the hood fell over her face, she had to control her instinct to fight back. This was the quickest way to find Anna or avenge her if the unthinkable had occurred.

A few hours and one very bumpy car ride later, Soren found herself tied to a rickety chair with her hands zip-tied behind her back. The building she was being held in was abandoned, judging by the amount of dust and smell of rot. Eventually, a trio of tall, muscular men walked in. One was shorter than the rest, with a tailored suit and slicked-back hair. It was Kellen Yarik.

“Well, what have we here?” He asked in Russian.

“I’m sorry,” Soren said shakily, “I only speak English and a bit of Spanish I remember from high school.”

“It is alright, Kitten,” He answered in English, “I’m sure this is all a big misunderstanding.”

“Yes, I mean… I’m not lookin for trouble. My sister, Karen, came here a few weeks ago and never came home. She was supposed to be writin and an article about some rich guy. It’s just her and me since our dad died. I thought I could find her, but the police said she was probably dead.” Soren kept talking as she assessed her situation.

The men in the room had short-wave earwigs, which meant more guards. And from the dirt on their pants, they had driven out of the city. She could hear a vehicle running somewhere to her left. Her host wasn’t planning on hanging around long.

“Your sister is in a lot of trouble, Miss?” Yarik asked lazily.

“Crissy,” She answered as she began melting her restraints, “What kinda trouble? She’s not hurt, is she?”

“She is… unharmed. For now. But tell me, Crissy. How long are you going to keep up this charade?”

Yarik wasn’t a complete idiot, which just made this situation more fun. Soren smiled innocently as she slowly straightened in her chair. No longer acting the scared little girl, she let him talk as he impatiently circled her.

“So, the question remains. Who sent you?”

“I was not sent for you,” Soren answered in perfect Russian, “My business is with the woman. She has made many enemies.”

“Ah, an enemy of my enemy is my friend? Tell me then, Kitten, who does she work for?”

“Everyone. No one.”

“I don’t like games, Kitten.”

“Surely, you know who your enemies are, Yarik. You wouldn’t have lasted this long otherwise.”

“Ah, so one of my former business associates then?” Yarik barked as he turned to one of his men, “I knew that bitch was one of Strucker’s little pets. No one could take that kind of abuse and survive.”

The name sounded familiar, but Soren couldn’t concentrate. She wanted to tear him apart for hurting Anna, but she couldn’t save her if she didn’t know where she was. So she focused on the angry little man in front of her. Yarik was practically spitting as he paced in front of her, glancing towards the door at the end of the room every so often. That was the only hint she needed.

“I am here for the woman, Yarik.” Soren said slowly, “This little incident is embarrassing for the both of us. She is to be delivered to me, unharmed. My benefactor is offering information for your cooperation and discretion.”

“Is that so? And what if I decided to kill you both, right here?” Yarik threatened as he leaned into her personal space.

“I’d say, you got about twenty seconds before I kick your sleazy ass all the way to Paris.” She replied cooly, silently slipping from her restraints.

“What will you do, Kitten? You have no claws!” Yarik bellowed, his voice echoing through the empty building.

Soren simply grinned as she head butted him, effectively breaking his nose. The next few seconds were a blur. Yarik’s men jumped into action as he howled in pain on the floor. Soren swept the legs under the bigger of the two and pinned him down. He thrust a knife at her that she parried and jabbed into his chest. Then bullets were flying from behind them, causing everyone to take cover.

Soren ducked behind a crate, subtly activating her new suit’s tracking beacon. More gunfire drew her attention to the only door in the room, and her mouth hit the floor. A beautiful, dark-haired woman in a torn evening gown was standing in the doorway, holding an automatic rifle in each hand.

Anna Karkarov, with dried blood accenting her high cheekbones and a crazed look in her pale blue eyes, scanned the room for her target. She slowly walked barefoot towards Yarik, who was cowering in a corner. Soren just watched as Anna discarded one of her weapons to grab the Billionaire by his collar and haul him to his feet.

“Mercy, please. I have money, information, connections. I can get you whatever you desire.”

“Yes, I believe you could,” Anna replied icily, “Unfortunately for you, I desire you dead.”

One shot to the head, and it was all over.

“Ah, much better,” Anna sighed as she pushed Yarik’s body over with her barefoot, “You can come out now. What brings you to Prague, little sister?”

“Uh, I was sent to rescue you. Guess you didn’t need help after all.” Soren said as she approached Anna slowly.

“No, but it is nice to know I was missed. These fools have given me more intel than even they knew. But I tired of their little games. And then they said they had my little sister. I knew it had to be you, Soren.”

“Because you knew I’d come for you?”

“No, because only you or Romanoff would have pulled an insane stunt like this. And we both know she would sooner shoot me herself.”

“To be fair, you did shoot her first… twice.”

“Yes well, she should have signaled me. How was I to know she was not a real prostitute?”

“Anna.” Soren said pointedly, “We can argue about this later. Right now, I want to hug my friend.”

“Of course, I have missed you, little sister,” Anna said as she wrapped her arms around Soren.

“Me too,” Soren sighed before grinning at her friend, “How did they make you, anyway? Don’t tell me you slept with the mark’s brother… again.”

“Of course not… it was his cousin.”

“Anna!”

“I’ll tell you all about it on the plane, I need to get out of this horrid dress,” Anna said as she linked her arm in Soren’s, “And I want to hear all about your new friends. Especially the blond, muscular one, with the hammer.”

“Oh, god.”

“Exactly!”


	9. Not So SIlent Night

Soren spent the next two weeks bouncing across Europe with Anna, going down the list of Yarik’s more unsavory friends. Together they took down a drug ring in Germany, stopped a terrorist plot in France, they even rescued the Prince of Wales when his plane mysteriously malfunctioned. It seemed that no matter where Anna went, excitement was just around the corner. And Soren was loving every minute of it.

The two had stopped over in Italy to gather intel on their last target and grab a bite to eat. Soren was enjoying herself, laughing as she told Anna all about the team and life in the Tower. Anna, for the most part, simply smiled and laughed along. She had stories of her own to share, most involved midnight heists and exposing scandalous affairs. She seemed to be on the pulse of everything happening in Europe.

“And that, of course, is what brought an end to the riots,” Anna sighed, finishing her latest story.

“Well yeah, a bullet to the head stops most things,” Soren commented as she refilled their wine glasses, “Why didn’t S.H.I.E.L.D. step in before it got that bad?”

“They didn’t see the threat until it was too late. Or perhaps the government orchestrated the whole thing and brought us in when it got out of hand. Either way, it served its purpose in the end.”

“I get so tired of just cleanin up these politicians’ messes. It’s like they just throw stuff at the wall and hope it sticks. I always feel like I could be doin more for the long haul, ya know?”

Anna hummed agreeably, her eyes suddenly distant as she stared out the window. Soren sipped on her drink, checking out the room as she stretched a bit. Her eyes were drawn to an older man at the next table, who was staring at his phone with a furrowed brow.

“There are some us who are more … hands-on than others,” Anna said finally before she downed the last of her glass, “More forward-thinking individuals who are working behind the scenes.”

“Uh-huh,” Soren replied absently, nosily craning her head to get a better view of the man’s screen. There was a slow ripple of gasps in the restaurant, people gawking at their devices or shoving them in the faces of their friends’.

“What if I told you that you could be part of something,” Anna had leaned across the table now, pulling Soren back into the moment, “Something more significant than the Avengers, something that would change the world.”

“If you mean taking on more responsibility with S.H.I.E.L.D., Hill keeps me pretty busy as it is,” Soren said as she pulled out her own phone and turned it back on.

“I can’t say more now, but I can promise this. The people I’m working with get things done.”

“I’m not sure I understand where this is goin, Anna,” Soren whispered.

“It’s complicated, but I’ve already put in a good word for you. They want to meet you.”

Before Soren could consider the offer, her phone sprang to life in her lap. She was surprised to see several missed calls from Maria, Natasha, and even Bruce. But it was the alert from WHiH News that made her heart lurch in her chest. ‘ _Tony Stark Missing_.’ She tapped the link almost absently, letting the grisly scene wash over her.

“This is Chess Roberts reporting live from Malibu Point,” The female reporter began as she gestured to the wreckage behind her, “We are standing just of outside what remains of Celebrity Billionaire Tony Stark’s home, where less than an hour ago, a trio of helicopters opened fire on the building.”

“We have unconfirmed reports that CEO of Stark Industries, Pepper Potts, and another unidentified woman were pulled from the wreckage by Tony Stark in his Iron Man suit. After this, Stark made contact with the attackers and seemingly went down with his home.”

Grainy footage of Iron Man flying towards the helicopters appeared briefly on the screen before a massive explosion seemed to damage the camera. The feed cut back to Roberts, who looked almost sick to her stomach.

“Earlier today, Stark visited his Head of Security and former bodyguard, Harold “Happy” Hogan, at Los Angeles Mercy Hospital, where he issued a statement to the press and more directly to the Mandarin himself.”

The feed cut to a clearly shaken Tony, as he braced himself against his car. He looked so tired, almost broken. Soren felt the anger radiating off of him as he spoke directly into the camera.

“Here's a little Holiday greeting I've been wanting to send to the Mandarin. I just didn't know how to phrase it until now. My name is Tony Stark, and I'm not afraid of you. I know you're a coward, so I've decided that you just died, pal. I'm going to come and get the body. There's no politics here; it's just good old fashioned revenge. There's no Pentagon, it's just you and me. And on the off-chance you're a man, here's my home address: 10880 Malibu Point, 90265. I'll leave the door unlocked.”

“Oh Tony, what did you do?” Soren asked quietly.

“So far, no comment has been given by Ms. Potts or her team on whether this attack is connected to the Mandarin Threat,” Roberts continued as she walked through the rubble of Tony’s Mansion.

“Rescue crews will be working around the clock to find any sign of life. But considering the amount of damage done to the building… things are looking grim for Stark. We will bring you more updates as this story develops. This is Chess Roberts, WHiH News signing off.”

The silence that followed was deafening. Soren tried to breathe, feeling her powers fluctuate almost absently. She went over the grainy footage a few times, hoping to catch a glimpse of Tony escaping the mounds of debris crashing down around him.

Anna gently placed a hand on Soren’s arm, bringing her attention back yet again. All the silverware had been bent into a mangled mess on the table, and red wine swirled around their heads. Soren closed her eyes and let out a shaky breath.

“Sorry.”

“Soren,” Anna began as the wine slowly snaked it's way back into their glasses, “Just breathe.”

“Tony is alive. He has to be… And poor Pepper, she’s all alone,” Soren stammered, knocking over her chair as she tried to gather her thoughts, “I should be there. I can help move the rubble, I can get to places they can’t!”

“You can’t do anything from here,” Anna said slowly as she motioned for their ticket, “We should…”

“I have to go now, Anna, it will be faster if I go alone.”

“Of course, you go ahead. I’ll finish up here and meet you in D.C. after it’s all over,” Anna said softly before standing and hugging Soren.

“I can’t lose anyone else, Anna,” Soren whispered, “Please be safe.”

“I don’t plan on going anywhere,” Anna reassured before cupping Soren’s face in her hands, “Don’t forget what we talked about. Alright? We could do great things together.”

“I’ll think about it,” Soren promised as she headed for the door, “I’ll call you when I’m back in the States.”

And with that, Soren was gone. Anna sighed as she threw back the last of her wine. A man appeared at her elbow a minute later, dressed in tactical gear and wearing a crooked grin.

“Looks like she got away from you again, Sparrow.”

“I really am tired of meeting like this,” Anna said icily as she watched the man settle in across from her, “I told them I would get Soren, one way or another.”

“I can see that,” He chuckled as he scooped up Soren’s discarded glass, “Your little friend could be a big problem for us, Anna. Now I don’t have to remind you of the consequences of failure, do I?”

“Don’t try to threaten me, Garrett,” Anna answered calmly, “I know you too well.”

Garrett eyed her as he produced a flask from his jacket and unscrewed the top. The dark liquid mixed with the bit of wine left in the glass, turning a murderous shade of red. He downed the half-full glass without flinching, making Anna's skin itch.

“I have to say, six targets in less than a month is pretty impressive,” He continued once he’d refilled his drink, “Of course, it helps to have the golden girl backing you up.”

“I could’ve handled it months ago if they had wished it. This was a test, a quick way to tie up loose ends. She proved herself most capable.”

“Still, she seems to be more in line with her new friends' way of thinking. Patriotism, loyalty, freedom for all. Do you really think you can convince her? Considering… Well, what they’ve already done to her?”

“If I can’t get her to join willingly,” Anna replied softly, as she calmly plucked his drink from his gloved hand and downed its contents, “Then we will make her comply.”

“You really are an Ice Queen, ya know that?”

* * *

Twelve Hours Later…

By the time Soren had made it to California, her nerves were nearly shot. She had tried Pepper multiple times but understandably couldn’t get through. Agent Hill gave her a two-minute lecture on her unsanctioned European vacation but had promised that S.H.I.E.L.D. was looking into Tony’s disappearance.

Calling the Team was just as helpful for her anxiety. Steve was still overseas, but he was taking the next flight out. Natasha had stayed in New York, most likely due to Clint’s inherent need to make himself useful since waking up. Apparently, he excelled at finding new and exciting ways to tear stitches. But Natasha had promised to do whatever she could from the Tower. Her last call was to Bruce, who was surprisingly still in Malibu.

“Soren?” He answered groggily, “I’ve been trying to reach you.”

“I know, and I’m so sorry,” She began as she made landfall just outside of Malibu, “I was out of the country. What the hell happened, Bruce?”

“Well, Happy got hurt. Bad. Then Tony threatened an international terrorist on TV. I’m guessing that you know the rest.”

“Do we know if… have they found anything?”

“No, and I doubt they will,” Bruce answered slowly.

“What are you saying?”

“Just get to Tony’s office. I’ll explain everything when you are on solid ground.”

Soren nearly cried with relief when she landed on the roof of Stark Industries a few minutes later. Bruce was waiting for her, shivering in the brisk morning air as she stumbled over to him. He looked as tired as she felt, but he gave her a small smile as she wrapped him in a crushing hug.

“Easy now,” Bruce chuckled as she pulled back sheepishly, “I’m not as strong as the other guy.”

“No, you’re stronger,” Soren replied quietly as he led her inside.

“I set up in Tony’s office,” He continued, trying to hide his blush and change the subject, “It’s way smaller than I thought it would be.”

“Has anybody heard from Colonel Rhodes?”

“I talked to him right after the choppers showed up. He’s the one that suggested I come here and run interference until we secured Pepper.”

“Makes sense. You’re close to Tony, and people know that. The Mandarin may know it.”

“You really think he would come after me too?”

“Men like him will do anything to prove a point,” Soren sighed as she took in the impressive amount of security around the building, “I’m honestly surprised he didn’t attack here too, just to salt the wound.”

“I hadn’t even thought about that,” Bruce confessed nervously, “This is all outside of my area of expertise.”

“Well, I’m here now, so we can share the stress. What did you find?”

“The main hardware housing J.A.R.V.I.S. sustained heavy damage, but he was able to capture the last few minutes before his system disconnected from the house. It seems to be a failsafe Tony implemented in case he was ever compromised like this.”

“He really thought of everything.”

“Yeah, and that was the main problem. Tony programmed J.A.R.V.I.S. to only run on the Stark secured server in case of an emergency. So I couldn’t even access my own files from here. Luckily for us, Natasha is an expert hacker. She helped me get past Tony’s firewalls and retrieve the footage from J.A.R.V.I.S.’s core mainframe.”

Bruce waved his hand over Tony’s desk, pulling up a screen with the footage of the mansion. The unmarked choppers were more visible from this angle, seeming even more sinister as they launched missiles into the crumbling building. Soren held her breath as Bruce zoomed in on a small blur of red and gold. The footage showed one of the Iron Man suits blasting out of the bay and rocketing out of camera range.

“It was going Mach speed by the time it broke the water,” Bruce continued breathlessly, “It’s a wonder J.A.R.V.I.S. caught it at all.”

“He was underwater for a while,” Soren commented as she rewatched the blur shoot out of the water, “Was the suit still registering his vitals?”

“They were faint, but yeah, Tony was alive in there.”

“So what’s with all the damned secrecy, Bruce?”

“Pepper… well originally anyway. If all we had found was a body, we would have given her false hope. But now, it’s for his own protection.”

“What else happened?”

“Pepper has gone missing. Along with the mystery woman from the mansion.”

Soren sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, “What do we know?”

“She made it to the hotel, but the security team lost contact after they checked in. Evidently, there was quite a struggle.”

“What’s the time frame?”

“They checked in roughly two hours ago, the security team did their sweep and reported the all clear, then nothing.”

“Shit.”

“I don’t get it. So far, the Mandarin thinks he succeeded in killing Tony. So why take Pepper?”

“Like I said, men like that want to make a point,” Soren sighed as she paced the office, “Or there’s more to all this than we know. What about surveillance from the hotel?”

“Cut by Stark’s guys as part of the sweep. Apparently, it’s standard protocol.”

“Of course it is. I’ll go check out the hotel room. Maybe I can find a clue they missed. Any idea where Tony was headed?”

“Most of that suits programming was done at the mansion. When that connection was cut, the backup memory was encrypted. Natasha’s working on it, but even she can’t beat an A.I.”

“I’m sure she took that as a challenge. I’ll let you know if I find anything.”

“Wait, I’m coming with you.”

“Like hell, you are!”

“Tony and Pepper are my friends. I’m tired of just sitting, hoping they are okay. I can help. Besides, you’re running on fumes as it is.”

“You can help them best by staying here, Bruce, where it’s safe.”

“I get that I’m a liability out there. Unless the other guy shows up, and then I’m a threat. But I have to do something now, or I’ll go crazy.”

“Fine,” Soren replied after a few seconds, “but I don’t like it.”

“Noted,” Bruce said happily as he swiped a pair of keys off the desk, “I’m driving.”


	10. Coffee and Conjuration

It was still early morning when Bruce pulled into the parking lot of the hotel. Soren, who had fallen asleep in the passenger seat, jerked awake to the sound of a police officer tapping on her window. She groggily flashed her S.H.I.E.L.D. badge, which he just rolled his eyes at before waving them through.

Wiping the sleep from her eyes, Soren scanned the busy parking lot for any sign of Pepper’s car. Stark’s security team and local police were all over the place, likely trampling any potential clues they’d hoped to find. Bruce hummed along to some pop song on the radio, trying to hide his increasing anxiety.

“It looks crowded in there,” Bruce mumbled as he pulled into a space near the entrance, “Maybe I should wait in the car?”

“Oh no! You wanted excitement, here it is,” Soren huffed as she climbed out of the car, “This place better have coffee, why did you let me fall asleep?”

“It sounded like you needed the rest. You were mumbling in your sleep,” The blood drained from Soren’s face as her mind raced to remember what he could have heard, “That’s a clear sign of severe exhaustion-”

“Coffee now, nap later,” She sighed in relief, cutting him off from his unnecessary coddling.

“What about after this particular crisis is over? You can’t run on fumes forever, Soren.”

“Ya know, you’re startin’ to sound like Natasha,” She complained as they made their way into the building.

“Soren, this is a surprise,” a familiar voice called from behind them, “It’s good to see you.”

Soren steeled herself before turning with a, hopefully, convincing smile. Agent Jasper Sitwell, an unassuming, bald man with wire-rim glasses, stood nearby with a tablet in his hand. She noticed that the other two agents nearby seemed a bit surprised as he strolled over to her.

“It’s nice to see you too,” Soren replied as she made introductions, “Bruce, this is Agent Sitwell of S.H.I.E.L.D., and I’m sure you remember Doctor Banner.”

“Yes, I believe we’ve met,” Sitwell replied curtly, keeping his attention on Soren.

“Bruce, why don’t you find that coffee you owe me while Sitwell brings me up to speed.”

“Uh, yeah sure,” Bruce answered as he escaped to the dwindling breakfast bar.

“I’m sorry you’ve come all this way for nothing,” Sitwell continued, sliding his arm around her shoulders as he steered her towards the other two agents, “We are just about wrapped up here.”

The other agents had almost comically opposite reactions to their approach. The shorter of the two, seemed to nearly cave into themselves to hide behind the other one. The other agent, a muscular woman with long black hair, approached excitedly with her arms extended. 

“Now it’s a party,” she greeted excitedly as she crushed Soren in a bear hug, “Sitwell, you didn’t tell us you are friends with _the_ Solstice.”

“Information about my personal life is above your clearance level, Agent Nakoa,” Sitwell said icily, “Now please let her breathe.”

“Nice to meet you,” Soren said after being placed back on the ground, “And it’s just Soren.”

“Well, it’s a pleasure, just Soren, I’m Alani Nakoa.” She chuckled, leaning back towards the other agent, “Hey Riley, what were you saying the other day?”

“Oh Lay off, Al,” the shorter agent answered in a thick Irish accent. They were slim compared to Alani, with cropped brown hair and emerald green eyes hiding behind their black glasses.

“I believe your exact words were ‘If I ever met one of the Avengers, I would fucking die,’ Does that sound right?”

“I … Uh. I’m Agent Riley Quinn, either name is fine. I’m pleased to be working with you. I’ll stop talking now.”

“That would be preferable, Agent Quinn,” Sitwell muttered.

“It’s really okay,” Soren said as she extended her hand to them, “It’s nice to meet you, Riley. I’m just happy when people aren’t afraid of me.”

Riley cocked their head, “Afraid? Why?”

“Yeah, the Avengers saved our collective asses,” Alani added as she planted herself in a nearby chair, “If we should worry about any of you, it should be Stark. That guy has no impulse control.”

“Mr. Stark is still the most brilliant mind of our generation,” Riley countered as they leaned against the wall, “Even if he is risking his life unnecessarily.”

“Well, at least you two don’t hold back,” Soren chuckled as she turned back to Sitwell, who looked a bit put out at being ignored, “Have you found any leads?”

“Unfortunately, no. We confirmed that Ms. Potts and her guest did not leave voluntarily, but we assumed that already.”

“Have you checked her vehicle?” Soren asked as Bruce made his way back to her side, sliding a piping hot cup of coffee into her hand, “We uh, thanks, we didn’t see it outside.”

“It’s being processed as we speak,” Sitwell ground out as he stared at Bruce longer than Soren liked before continuing, “We are doing everything we can to ensure Ms. Potts’ safe return.”

“Oh, I’m sure you are. But do you mind if we take a look at Pepper’s room anyway?”

Sitwell smiled tightly before clearing his throat, “Of course, a fresh perspective is always welcome. Let us know if you find anything new, Soren.”

With that, Sitwell motioned for the other two as he made his way to the security room. Riley and Alani shared a look before reluctantly following him. As she waved goodbye, Soren couldn’t shake the feeling that she would be seeing them again.

* * *

“I feel like I should have apologized to that guy,” Bruce said once they were safe in the elevator, “I don’t know what I did, though.”

“Well, ya kinda broke the Helicarrier,” Soren whispered, “And he was on it at the time, but that wasn’t your fault. Don’t get too hung up on it, though. I doubt he actually likes me either.”

“Why? What did you do to him?”

“I may have set him on fire… twice.”

“What?”

“Listen, I was still learnin’ how to control my powers, and he was just so… flammable,” Soren trailed off as the elevator stopped on the seventh floor.

“He seemed overly friendly to me. Maybe he forgave you.”

“Doubt it,” She continued as they made their way down the hall, “But he was close to Coulson. Maybe he feels like he owes it to him to at least try and get along.”

Pepper’s room, much like the woman herself, was pristine. The only sign she’d even been there was a discarded shoe and a broken wine glass. Soren tried to piece together the scene as she examined the pool of wine on the floor.

“Please tell me that’s not blood.”

“Nope, just wine. Good stuff too.”

Just as Soren stood back up, she felt an ominous shiver run down her spine. Before she could determine the source, however, the building began to shake. She and Bruce braced themselves as the apparent earthquake only strengthened in its intensity. Seeing the panicked look in his eyes, Soren grabbed him by the arm and flew them out the window. By the time they had made it safely to the street below, the right side of the hotel was sinking into the earth.

“What the hell is happening?”

“I don’t know,” Soren yelled as she concentrated on holding the building in place, “Just get them outta there!”

Over the next few minutes, Bruce had all of the staff and police officers at a safe distance. When he gave her the all-clear, Soren dropped her hands, and the hotel collapsed in on itself. Once the dust had settled, she got closer and saw that the right side had sunk about seven feet lower than the left.

“That didn’t feel like a normal earthquake,” Bruce said as he appeared behind her.

“Yeah, and that’s not normal either,” She answered, gesturing to the completely straight line in the ground, “Someone did this on purpose.”

“Why? A concentrated attack on a random hotel sounds a bit ridiculous.”

“Not when you think about who was inside.”

“You think whatever or whoever did this was targeting us?”

“Possibly.”

As the weight of her words sunk in, Soren’s phone sprang to life in her pocket. She sighed when she looked at the caller I.D., “Hey, Sitwell.”

“Soren?” A distinctly Irish voice answered.

“Riley? What’s going on?”

“Agent Sitwell said to call you, he and Al are … we could really use some help down here. We felt an earthquake, but it only affected our car. I managed to get out, but it’s sinking into the ground.”

“Sounds familiar,” Soren muttered as she shot a look at Bruce, “Look, send me your location, and I’ll be there as fast as I can.”

“Of course and thanks, Soren.”

“Bruce, I’ve gotta go.”

“It happened somewhere else?”

“Yeah,” She answered as her phone pinged with the agents’ location, “Sitwell and his team were attacked a few blocks from here.”

“So they attacked the S.H.I.E.L.D. guys and us? I should probably check on the others.”

“I’m afraid that will not be possible,” A familiarly smooth voice called out from behind them. Soren whirled around to face them only to be met with an empty sidewalk.

“What the hell?” She asked as she scanned the area.

“That voice,” Bruce stammered as he backed up against the hotel wall, “Did it sound like Loki to you?”

“Yeah, now that you ask it did, but he’s in Asgard under heavy surveillance.”

“Technically, I’m still there,” Loki admitted as he appeared behind Soren and leaned his elbow on her head, “Or my duplicate is at any rate.”

“How the- get off me!” Soren yelled as she stepped away from the trickster, “How are you here?”

“I could try to explain inter-dimensional travel to your limited understanding, or I could just show you.”

With that, Loki snapped his fingers, and a cloud of green mist appeared in front of them. He swept his hand across it, and a map of Las Angeles was revealed. He pointed to a dingy looking diner on the highway that seemed to be glowing.

“That, my dear, is how I got here. Midgard holds more secrets than your mind could possibly fathom.”

“So this place is a natural portal between Earth and Asgard? Like the Bifrost but a set point?”

“Very astute, Ogre,” Loki cooed as he sneered in Bruce’s direction, “You prove to possess both brains and brawn. Though, unfortunately, it is one at a time, is it not?”

“I don’t think you came all this way to pick a fight with Bruce,” Soren said as she stepped between the two men, “Now, what does your portal have to do with the earthquakes?”

“Right to the point, then? No witty banter? No concern for my welfare or treatment under the brutality of Asgardian imprisonment?”

Soren stepped closer to get a good look at him. Loki seemed to be in excellent health. His wounds from the Battle of New York had long since healed, not even a scar to mark his pretty face. His eyes were different, however. Instead of the brilliant blue she remembered, they were a deep shade of green. She vaguely recalled Natasha saying something about Clint’s eyes changing too. So Loki was his own man again, for now at least.

“You look like they’re feeding you, and they aren’t beating you. I’d say that’s better than most prisoners get,” She began as she stepped back and eyed him warily, “Does Thor know you’re here?”

“It was my dear brother who sent me,” Loki claimed as he waved his arms nonchalantly, “He knew I could get here undetected by both Odin or your pesky mortal toys.”

“Why didn’t he come himself?” Bruce asked, his patience wearing thinner by the second, “And what’s with all the secrecy?”

“Odin would not allow it. You see, Asgard has its own problems at the moment. Some of those problems are soon to become yours as well. Unless we work out the kinks in your planet’s natural defenses, that is.”

“And we are supposed to trust you? After everything you’ve done?” Bruce huffed as he stalked toward the young god, “Just like that?”

“Of course not, but I do have proof of the severity of the situation. Or, more accurately,” Loki answered as he pointed behind them, “Your S.H.I.E.L.D. friends are that proof.”

“Shit,” Soren spat as she spun around to see smoke coming from downtown, “Bruce, keep an eye on our guest. I’ll help Sitwell and the others.”

Both men tried to protest, but Soren was already gone.

* * *

  
Soren arrived on the scene just in time to see Riley pulling Sitwell from a perfectly car-shaped hole in the ground. A quick survey of the surrounding area confirmed that they were the only ones affected by the quake. She also saw the corpses of several gargoyle looking creatures with large, bat-like wings and sharp claws.

“Where is Alani?” Soren asked as she landed beside them, “And what the fuck are those things?”

“I don’t know,” Riley began as they glanced around nervously, “The bastards came out of nowhere and attacked the car. We shot at them but then-”

“Agent Nokoa is still inside the car,” Sitwell interrupted from his seated position on the pavement. He was bleeding from the side of his head and his glasses where broken. Riley had similar wounds and had taken their jacket off to use as a makeshift tourniquet.

Soren approached the hole cautiously, feeling the continued vibrations in her feet. She could sense something was pulling the car down. The pit was also narrowing the further down it went, slowly crushing the vehicle. Without a word, Soren jumped into the now ten-foot deep hole and used her abilities to peel back the roof of the car. Alani was huddled in the passenger seat, mumbling something under her breath but seemed uninjured.

“Hey, Al, I’m gonna get you outta here. Okay?” Soren asked as she reached out to her.

“Don’t let them take me!” Alani screamed as she suddenly lunged forward, clinging to Soren’s shirt.

Soren wasted no time, grabbing the younger agent under her arms and using her abilities to lift them out of the pit. Riley was at their side in an instant, looking Alani over for injuries. Soren walked over to one of the creatures and nudged it with her boot.

“We sure these things are dead?”

“I unloaded a full clip into it,” Sitwell answered behind her, “If it’s still breathing, I don’t know what else to do.”

“Well, it looks like we have a new mystery to solve, gang,” Soren muttered as she turned back to the group, “Have you heard from headquarters? This can’t be the only attack.”

“We haven’t been able to contact anyone but you.”

“Then we are on our own for now,” Soren sighed as she looked back towards the hotel, “So which do you want first? The bad news or the worse news?”


End file.
